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http://www.archive.org/details/proceedingsofproOOunit 



48th CoNanESS, \ SENATP:. ( Ex. Doc. 

Is* 8e8sio7i. S \ ^o. 100. 



PROCEEDIISKIS 



THE "PROTEUS" COURT OF INQUIRY 



ON THE 



GEEELY RELIEF EXPEDITION 



Of 



18 8 3 



WASHINGTON: 

&OVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1884. 



S4-*2, 



G 



r 



67 



G 



48th Congress, ) SENATE. ( Ex. Doc. 

l.s^ Session. i \ No. 100. 



MESSAGE 



FROM THE 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



TRANSMITTING, 



In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 6, 1<S84, records 
of the court of inquiry in relation to the loss of the steamer Proteus in the 
Arctic Ocean. 



February 13, 1884. — Eead and referred to the Committee ou Naval Affairs and 

ordered to be printed. 



To the Senate of the United States: 

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of February 6, 1884, 

directing — 

That the President he requested, if in his judgment not incompatible with the pub- 
lic interest, to communicate to the Senate the record of the proceedings, testimony, 
and findings of the coiirt of inquiry in relation to the events connected with the loss 
of the steamer Proteus in the Arctic Ocean, 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the records, &c., called 
for in said resolution, together with the letter of the Secretary of War, 
dated the 12th instant, submitting the same to me. 

CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
Executive Mansion, 

February 13, 1884. 



War Department, 

Washington City, February 12, 1884. 

Sir : Acknowledging the receipt, by your reference, of the resolution 

of the Senate of February 6, 1884, directing — 

That the President be requested, if in his judgment not incompatible with the pub- 
lic interest, to couimui. icate to the Senate the record of the proceedings, testimony, 
and findings of the court of inquiry in relation to the events connected with the loss 
of the steamer Proteus in the Arctic Ocean, 

I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of the record called for by 
said resolution. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
The President. 



Proceedings of a court of inquiry convened at Washington, D. C, pur- 
suant to the followins: order : 



I Special Order No. 249.] 



Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Wasltington, October 31, 1883. 



I Extract.! 



3. The following order has been received from the War Department : 

War Department, 
IFd-sJiington Ciijf, October 31, 18^^. 

By direction of the President of the United States a court of inquiry is hereby ap- 
pointed to investigate the organization and fitting out of the Greely relief expediticjsi 
partf transported by the steamer Proteus, having parti cuhir reference to the ordejo 
and instructions issued for the guidance and government thereof, and the arrange- 
ments made for assistance from the United States steamer Yantic. 

The court will make a full and thorough investigation of all matters relating to 
the general conduct of the expedition, including, particularly, the failure of the Pro- 
teus to keep in company with the Yantic up to Littleton Island or its neighborhood, 
and the failure to establish a well-provided relief station at or near Littleton Island, 
and will take into consideration in their investigation such records and correspond- 
ence pertaining to the original Greely expedition as they may deem necessary, and 
will report the facts developed by their investigation and their opinion as to whether 
the conduct of any officer of the Army in the premises calls for further proceedings 
before a general court-martial, and the reasons for the conclusions whicli they may 
re^ch. 

Detail for the court. — Brig. Gen. S. V. Benkt, Chief of Ordnance; Col. O. M. 
POE, aid-de-camp; Col. R. B. Ayres, Second Artillery. Maj. Henry Goodfellow, 
judge advocate. United States Army, Avill act as recorder of the coiu't. 

The court will meet in the city of Washington on the 8th dav of November, 1883. 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secreiary of War, 

Bv command of General Sherman : 

R. C. DRUM, 

Adjuiant-GeyicraL 



:N'ovember 8, 1883—10.30 a. m. 
The court met. Present, all the members and the recorder. 
The court and recorder were duly sworn according to law. 
The court then proceeded with closed doors to consider the proper 
method of proceeding. 
S. Ex. 100 ^1 



Z PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

The recorder announced that immediately upon receiving notice of tlie 
appointment of the court he had telegraphed requesting the Adjutant- 
General to furnish the court ^vith all the official correspondence and re- 
ports showing the history of the Arctic expedition under command of 
Lieutenant Greely, and of that recently sent to its relief. Since the re- 
corder's arrival in this city the Adjutant-General had informed him that 
this telegram had been properly referred, with directions for a compliance 
therewith. 

The court, after deliberation, directed a letter to be addressed to the Ad- 
j utant-General (a copy of which is annexed marked A), 

A. 

Rooms of Coukt of Inquiry, 

JVashington, D. C, November 8, 1853. 

Sir: The court of inquiry apiioiuted by Special Order No. 249, A. G. O., C. S., has 
orgauized and is now iu sessiou, and has the honor to request to be furnished with 
certitied copies of all instructions, reports, and correspondence to, from, and with the 
War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Signal Office, and Lieutenant Greely and 
the officer in command of the expedition sent to his relief in the years 1P82 and 1883. 

In order to save time it is suggested that the instructions, any part or parts of 
which bear upon any plan of escape or rescue, be furnished at first. 

It is also desired by the court that the originals (in addition to the certified copies 
requested) of the instructions to the commanding officer of the Signal Service relief 
expedition be sent to the court for inspection. 

The court further asks that the Secretary of the Navy be requested to furnish the 
court with officially certified copies of all instructions, reports, and con-esijondeuce 
on record in the Department relating to the cruise of the Yantic in Arctic waters on 
the same errand; and to instruct the commander of the Yantic, who was charged with 
that duty, and Lieutenant Colwell of the Navy, who is understood to have accom- 
panied the Army Signal Service expedition, to hold themselves in readiness to appear 
as witnesses before the court should their attendance be required, and to report their 
residence or address to the judge advocate of the court. 
Verv respectfully, your obedient servant, • 

S. V. beniEt, 

Brigadier-General, Chief of Ordnance, President of Court. 
Brigadier-General Druji, 

Adjutant-General of the Army. 

The court then, at noon, adjourned to meet to-morrow at 11 o'clock. 



Washington, D. C., 
Friday, November 9, 1883 — 11 a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Prasent, all the members and 
recorder. 

The recorder laid before the court a number of copies (certified and 
transmitted to the court by the Chief Signal Officer of the Army) of the 
records and correspondence of the Signal Office relating to the Arctic ex- 
pedition of 1883. These documents were read and directed by the court 
to be attached to this record as exhibits (to be properly arranged and num- 
bered her.eafter in chronological order according to their date and identi- 
fied by the initials of the recorder). 

First Lieutenant Ernest A. Garlington, Seventli Cavalry, presented him- 
sslf before the court and asked that the privilege might be reserved to 
him to appear at any stage of the proceedings when he might deem it 
necessary, and introduce counsel to assist in his behalf in this investiga- 
tion. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 3 

The president of the court directed him to put his request into writing, 
when it would receive due consideration. 

The reading of the papers above mentioned having been concluded, the 
court ^vas closed for deliberation, and after discussing the matters pre- 
sented in the papers that had been read, at 3 o'clock p. m. adjourned un- 
til to-morrow at 11 a. m. 



Washington, D. C, 
Saturday, November 10, 1883 — 11 a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. 

The recorder announced that Mr. H. H. Alexander, appointed sten- 
ographic reporter of the court, witli the approval of the court, was present 
and ready to be sworn. 

By direction of the court Mr. H. H. Alexander was then duly sworn 
to the faithful performance of liis duties as stenographic reporter. 

The reading of the official copies furnished from the Signal Office was 
then proceeded with. A letter (annexed marked B) of Mr. Garliugton, re- 
questing permission to appear with counsel, if at any time in the course 
of the proceedings he should deem it necessary, was then read to the 
court. 

Mr. Garlingtou, being present in court, was informed that his request 
was granted. 

The court then, it being 3 o'clock, adjourned until Monday at 11 o'clock 
a. m. 



B. 

Washington, D. C, November 10, 1882. 
I'o the President of the Court of Inquiry instituted by Par. 3, S. 0. 249, C. S., A. G. 0. : 

Sir: I have the honor to ask the privilege of employing counsel, vrho shall appear 
before the court whenever it shall seem to me best for the purpose of arriving at the 
truth, or for my own interests. It occurs to me that it may be of great assistance to 
the court if there shall be present, acting in my behalf, counsel who has made a 
special study of that branch of the inquiry in which I am specially interested. 

Although the story of the voyage of the Proteus, of the loss of the ship, and of my 
subsequent retreat is very simple, I do not feel myself competent, by reason of my in- 
experience in the examination of witnesses and of my personal interest in the mat- 
ter, to present it so clearly to the court as it ought to be made appear. It is apparent 
to me, from much that has already been said, that patient study and thorough prep- 
aration can alone avail in dealing with occurrences in the Arctic regions. Grave in- 
justice has already been done me by persons who have reached conclusions unsup- 
ported by the facts, and therefore I conclude that if to my own knowledge can be 
added the skill of counsel whose duty it shall be to devote all his time to the exami- 
nation into the conduct of the expedition after its departure from Saint John, New- 
foundland, the labors of the court will be greatly lightened and its counsels greatly 
assisted. I have secured the services of Mr. Linden Kent as my counsel, who, with 
the permission of the court, will appear before it to aid me whenever it shall a^ipear 
necessary. 

I am sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 
First Lieut. Seventh Cavalry, Acting Signal Officer. 



4 proceedings of proteus court of inquiry. 

Washington, D. C, 
Monday, Nov. 12, 1883— il a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. 

The reading of papers sent from the Signal Office was resumed. 

The recorder presented a number of papers received from the Sec- 
retary of War, being the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, com- 
manding the relief expedition of 1883, and his report with iuclosures and 
accompanying correspondence. These papers were read, and, the same be- 
longing to the files of the War Department, copies thereof are hereto an- 
nexed as exhibits. 

The court then, at 3 o'clock, was closed and proceeded to consider what 
witnesses, if any, should be summoned. 

After deliberation, the court, at 3 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m., adjourned 
until 11 to-morrow. 



Washingto]S", D, C, 
November 13, 1883—11 a, m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
tiie recorder. 

The recorder presented to the court three volumes of certified copies- 
of the records of the Navy Department, furnished by the Secsretary 
of the Navy, and offered them in evidence. They were read, and are 
annexed to this record as exhibits. Whereupon 

Lieut. Ernest A, Gartingtox was sworn and examined as follows : 
By the Recorder: 

Question, You are a first lieutenant in the Seventh Cavalry? — Answer, 
Yes, sir, 

Q, And have been in that regiment since you graduated in 1876? — -A. 
I have. 

Q. And served? — A. And served with the regiment continuously. 

Q. Until you took charge of the Arctic matters submitted to your care ? 
— A, Yes, sir, 

•- Q, What time did you first become connected with the Arctic expedi- 
tion ?— A, I arrived here on the 20th of February, 1883, 

Q. You had volunteered before that time, had you not ? — A, Yes, sir ; 
I volunteered during the month of December, 1882. 

Q,. And you were assigned to duty ? — A. I was ordered to report here 
to the Chief Sig-nal Officer during the month of Februarv. I was ordered 
to Saint Paul during the month of January on this duty, but after arriv- 
ing there the Secretary of War notified the department commander that 
it was too early to bring the officers and men intended for this duty East, and 
I was ordered back to my post at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory. During 
the month of February I received telegraphic orders to report again. 

Q. You came on duty at what time? — A. I reported to the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer for duty the 21st of February. 

Q,. How were you engaged from that time until you left St. John's in 
command of the expedition? — A. I was engaged in getting together the 
stores and materials for the expedition. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 5 

Q,. You sailed on the Yantic from New Y'ork on what date? — A, The 
12th of June. 

Q. And arrived at St. John's on what date ? — A. I arrived at St. John's 
on the 21st of June. 

Q,. You state in your i-eport that when you arrived you found the Pro- 
teus had shipped her cargo and it had been stowed? — ^A. Y"es, sir; Gen- 
eral Hazen's instructions were forthe Alhambra to discharge her stores 
into the Proteus. That was not practicable, because the Proteus could not 
go alongside the wharf where the Alhambra lay, and the}' were shipped 
from that storehouse down to the storehouse of the owners of the Proteus 
and loaded under the supervision of Captain Pike. The stores sent from 
'New Y^ork were all on board when I arrived there, and they were loading 
the stores that had been left by the expedition of the year before. 
, Q. Was any representative of the Signal Service present? — A. No, sir. 

Q. None of your party ? — A. No, sir ; a sergeant had been sent from New 
Y'ork on board the Alhambra in charge of the stores^ by direction of Gen- 
eral Hazen. 

Q. But he had nothing, to do with stowing them? — A. He left the ship 
at Halifax and returned to AYashington City. 

Q. None of your party was sent by the Alhambra ? — A. This sergeant 
was of my party. He claimed to have met with an injury on the way up, 
and left the ship at Halifax and returned to the United States. 

Q. He did not accompany you afterward ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. What report or statement of stores did you receive that were shipped 
on board the Proteus; what invoice? — A. I do not exactly understand 
you. 

Q,. Did you know what stores you "\vere taking out with you ? — A. I 
knew what stores left New Y''ork. 

Q. In the Alhambra? — A. Y^es, sir. 

Q. Had you verified the stores yourself? — A. No, sir; I was present 
when the stores were loaded on the Alhambra, durino- the loadiuo- of the 
stores, and there was an agent there of the Quartermaster's Department 
verifying the stores as they were turned over to the ship. I was fur- 
nished with a copy of the bill of lading, and also an invoice of all the 
stores that had been furnislied me, and these invoices were verified by the 
representative of the Government — a transportation agent. 

Q. Do you know whether they were inspected, and by whom ? — A. 
The commissary stores were inspected by General Hawkins; under his 
personal supervision. The medical stores were furnished me by the med- 
ical purveyor there — General Swift, I think. 

Q. What was the aggregate strength of your o^vn party as it left St. 
John's? — A. Thirteen men, including Lieutenant Col well and myself. 

Q. For what time were you rationed ? — A. I had supp>lies for forty men 
for fifteen months fA)m the 1st of July, 1883. 

Q. That was the total amount of supplies you took for yourself and for 
Lieutenant Greely's colony? — A. Y'^es, sir. 

Q. You stated in your report that your party was not supplied with 
arms ; that is, in their personal possession. Will you explain how that 
was? — A. Two shot-guns were bought for the use of the expedition, and 
a certain number of carbines were shipped from the Signal Office here for 
the use of the expedition, and were stored with the rest of the property that 



6 PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

arrived at St. John's before my arrival tliere^ and when I got to St. John's 
I had the stores in the main hold removed, and also some of the stores from 
the other portion of the ship — as many as I could get out without unload- 
ing the ship entirely. I spent one whole day in doing that and failed to 
iind the arms and a good many other stores for which I was looking. 

Q,. You never saw the arms? — A. I never saw them at all. I searched 
for them again at Disko and still failed to find them. 

Q. What fire-arms of any description had your party at the time of the 
wreck of the Proteus ? — A. Lieutenant Colwell had a shot-gun of his own, 
Private Moritz had a repeating rifle of his own, Private Ellis, of the Signal 
Corps, had a Winchester rifle, and I had a Hotchkiss rifle which Lieu- 
tenant Colwell brought with him from the Yantic. 

Q. How many rounds of ammunition had you? — A. Lieutenant Col- 
well had eighty-six cartridges, loaded, and there were about 1,500 rounds 
of carbine ammunition. 

Q. Were there no pistols in the party? — A. Lieutenant Colwell had a 
pistol, and I think Ellis had a pistol. 

By the Court : 

Q. A revolver ? — A. Yes, sir. 
By the Recorder : 

Q. And some ammunition? — A. Yes, sir ; a small quantity. 

Q. [Submitting a j)aper to witness.] I will ask you to look at this paper 
and see if it is your original report of the expedition, made at its date. — 
A. [After examining same.] That is not the original report that I sub- 
mitted. 

Q. It is signed by you, is it not? — A. Yes, it is a duplicate of the orig- 
inal report that I submitted in ^v'ritiug. 

Q. And signed by you? — A. Yes, sir; and that copy was thoroughly 
compared Avith the original and is the same. 

Q. [Submitting another paper to witness.] Those are your original 
instructions, are they not? — A. [After examining the same.] Yes, sir; 
those are my original instructions. I was furnished with several copies of 
those instructions. . That is one of the copies. 

(The papers identified by the witness were received from the office of 
the Secretary of War, and have been read, and copies of tliem are hereto 
attached as exhibits.) 

Q. I will ask you if that report was prepared from original data or 
memoranda made by yourself at the time? — A. Yes, sir; the report was 
prepared by me from data made on the spot. 

Q. And, so far as your recollection goes, it is correct in all its state- 
ments? — A. Yes, sir; the report is correct as I submitted it. I have 
never compared the printed copy with the original report. 

Q. I wish you would state the history of the inclosfire described as No. 4 
and as instructions for the Yantic and the Proteus. — A, Between the 15th 
and 20th of May, 1883, I was in the office of the executive officer of the 
Signal Office, I^ieutenant Caziarc, and he showed me the rough notes of a 
paper which he was preparing to be furnished the Navy Department as a 
basis of the instructions which the Signal Office was going to ask to have 
given the naval vessel which I was informed was to accompany me. In 
tills conversation I learned that General Hazen, previous to his depart- 



PK0CEEDINC4S OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 7 

wre for St. John's, XeAvfoundland^ which liad occurred some days 
previously, had asked the Navy Department to detail a suitable ves- 
sel to go with us as a tender ; l)ut no one in the Signal Office 
knew that sucli a request had been made, nor was there any copy of 
the letter on file that he had sent to the Navy Department. A few days 
afterwards I learned from Lieutenant Caziarc that this paper had been sub- 
mitted to Captain Powell, who was then Acting Chief Signal Officer, and 
that that officer had declined to take any steps in the matter until the re- 
turn of General Hazen. I remember nothing more of the memorandum 
. until the 5th of June, I think. General Hazen in the mean time had re- 
turned from St. John's and I was furnished with my instructions. I 
was in the office of Lieutenant Caziarc when I got the instructions. I 
opened them and found in the same envelope with the instructions this 
memorandum. It Avas not addressed, not numbered as an inclosure, and 
bore uo official marks whatever except in the lower left-hand corner the 
initials (O. C. S. O.) of the office of the Chief Signal Officer, June 5, 
1883. I had never seen it before, except in the rough notes; I went 
into General Hazeu's office and told him that I had received my instruc- 
tions, and among them I had found this paper, and called his attention 
especially to that clause relating to the landing of all Jny stores at Little- 
ton Island on my w^ay north, and also calling his attention to the fact that 
it conflicted Avith my instructions ; he said that he did not know how that 
paper got in there, and I think I remarked that I knew how it got in : ihui it 
had been prepared by Lieutenant Caziarc, and perhaps he had probably pi.t 
it in ; after he made the remark that he did not know how the paper got in 
among my other papers I of course' thought that he had not even approved 
this memorandum, and that it Avas nothing more than a piece of paper that 
had accidentally got in among my instructions. We tlien had some coiit- 
versation about the expedition, in the course of which lie told me that he 
had the utmost confidence in me, and that while I should make the attempt 
to follow as nearly as possible the plan laid clown in the letter of lieutenant 
Greely, which had been written from Fort Conger, that I must be gov- 
erned to a great extent by my own judgment on the spot. I do not think 
there was anything more of any importance in that conversation. 

By the Court: 

Q,. Did General Hazen state that the memorandum got in there acci- 
dentally or that he did not know how it got there? — A. His words were, 
"I don't know how that got in there." 

Q. Did he make any effort to withdraw it ? — A. No, siri After that 
I paid no more attention to the memorandum at all and never regarded it 
as an instruction or suggestion in any light, nor did he in that conversa- 
tion allude to it in any way as a suggestion or that I was to act upon it as 
a suggestion. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did General Hazen say anything that would lead you to believe 
that he had known of that paper before? — A. No, sir. 

Q. While this conversation was going on where was the executive offi- 
cer, Mr. Caziarc ? — A, He was in his own office, 1 think. 

Q. The adjoining office? — A. The adjoining office. 

Q. Now, when you saw those rough notes had you any conversation 



8 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRE. 

with Lieutenant Caziarc in reference to tlie projected additional inst ruc- 
tions? — A. Yes, I think 1 talked with him about the instructions to the 
naval vessel; I remember distinctly telling him that lAvished the instruc- 
tions so drawn up that there A\ould be no conflict between the commander 
of the Yantic and myself; that is, the commander of the naval tender and 
myself; and some other general conversation probably. I do not remem- 
ber anything particular, though, except that; it was an uuofficial conver- 
sation; I did not regard Lieutenant Caziarc as having really anything at 
all to do with my instructions, and from the conversation I had with hira 
I inferred that he was drawing up this paper of his own accord ; not from 
any orders he had received, but, as lie thought, to facilitate matters and 
have the paper in readiness if called for. I looked upon it more as the ex- 
pression of his private opinion than anything else. 

By the Col'ET : 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Jjieutenant Caziarc after the 
interview with General Hazen upon that subject? — A. No, sir ; I did not 
take the paper into consideration at all after my conversation with Gen- 
eral Hazen. 

By the EECOiiDER : 

Q. Where was the agreement made with Commander Wildes in refer- 
ence to the manlier in which the vessels should proceed ? — A. At St. 
John's, Newfoundland. 

Q. Had you at that time seen tlie instructions to the Yantic? — A. No, 
sir; I did not see the instructions to the commander of the Yantic until 
my return to Washington. 

By the Couet : 
Q. After the expedition ? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recoedee : 
Q. You were not furnished Avitli any cop}' of them ? — A. No, sir. 

By the Couet : 
Q. You did not know what the instructions were ? — A. I did not know 
anything except that his orders were not to enter the ice, or to place his 
ship iu no position where he would riui the risk of having to remain a 
winter in the Arctic regions. That I gathered from conversation with 
Commander Wildes and the officers of the ship on the way up, and I knew 
that the letter that had been prepared in the Signal Office had made that 
a condition — that the ship was not expected to go into the ice or to place 
itself in any unusually dangerous position. 

By the Recoedee : 

Q, What letter was that ? — :A. The letter written by General Hazen 
asking that a naval ship be detailed for the duty. 

Q,. How were you informed of that? — A. I think by Lieutenant Cazi- 
arc, or in the Signal Oiiice ; it was the subject of general conversation in 
the Signal Office. 

Q. Before you left? — A. Before I left; General Hazen never had any 
conversation with me about this naval vessel ; I did not know that he 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 9 

contemplated uskiiio- for it at all, and only beard of it incidentally after it 
had been asked for. 

Q. Yon observed in yunr instructions that you were informed that a 
naval tender would accompany you to Littleton Island ? — A. Certainly. 

Q. Now, do you remember that Commander Wildes informed you that 
he had orders not to enter the ice, or was it not to enter the ice-pack? — A. 
Not to enter the ice-pack. 

Q. Then that and the reasons you have stated in your report were your 
grounds for believing that he would not go to Littleton Island ? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. All the grounds? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. lu Lieutenant Greely's letter mapping out a plan of operations for 
his relief he states that the material for the depots at A and B should be 
prepared in St. John's before the vessel started. You had no opportu- 
nity to make them, I suppose, from what you have stated as to the time of 
your arrival? — A. The stores Avere all stowed before I got to St. John's, 
and in order to get out the provisions to make these depots I Avould have 
had to have broken out much more of the stores than I had time to do, 
and I knew that I \vas going to stop at Disko and could prepare these 
depots there just as well as I could at St. John's, and therefore put it off 
until then, and did prepare the depots after I arrived at Disko. 

Q,. How were the stores prepared for the depots? — A. They Avere ail 
packed in barrels. 

Q. On top of the rest of the cargo? — A. Yes, sir; they were stowed 
where thev could be gotten at at once, right under the forecastle. 

Q. Had yon any stores prepared in bags ready to be thrown overboard 
in an emergency; were you supplied with any canvas bags or tarpaulin 
bags? — A. No, sir; I had no canvas bags or tarpaulin bags except the 
boat bags. When I got to Disko I had such provisions as would be needed 
in case of emergency all put right under the main hatch. In the main 
hold the stores were all placed right under the main hatch, so that in a 
moment, by just lifting off the cover, the stores could be gotten out on tiie 
ice just as rapidly as if they had been on deck. 

Q,. They were in barrels?— A. No, they were not in barrels. These 
stores were miscellaneous cargo. But the depots that had been prepared 
to be established at different places were in barrels. 

Q. How were the stores secured that you expected to take out in an 
emergency? — A. In boxes or barrels, just as it might be. Hard bread 
was in barrels and the canned goods were in boxes. 

Q. With reference to this stowing of the cargo I desire to ask if you 
made an application to proceed by the Alhambra yourself from New 
York for the purpose of superintending the stowing? — A. I did. I sent 
a telegram to General Hazen from New York on the 7th of June strongly 
recommending that not only myself but the entire party be sent on the 
Alhambra to St. John's so that I might be there when the stores arrived, 
verify the bill of lading, and superintend the stoAving of the cargo as I 
wanted. I got no reply to that telegram until after the ship had sailed, 
which was to send Sergeant Wail on board the Alhambra and that myself 
and party should go on the United States steamer Yantic. I had had 
orders to send Sergeant Wall on the Alhambra before I left here. 

Q. And he went ? — A. He Avent. 



10 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the CorRT : 
Q. Is th;it the man who left the ship at Halifax and turned back ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

By the Kecordeh : 

Q. How long was the Alhambra making the passage on that occasion ; 
what time did she arrive at St. John's ? — A. I do not remember exactly. 

Q. What is the average length of the passage ? — A. About seven or 
eight days. 

Q. And you left in the Yautic on what day ? — A. On the 13th of Jime. 

Q. And arrived when? — A. On the 21st. 

Q,. Now of these thirteen men constituting your party, how many, if any, 
had had any nautical experience or education? — A. Sergeant Kenney and 
Corporal Elwell had been in the merchant marine. Private Murphy had 
served an enlistment in the United States Navy as a seaman, and had been 
on board of the Juniata when it went noj"th in 1873. Private Moritz had 
been a sailor on tlie lakes. Private Jiogge had been with the expedition of 
1882. The other men had had no sea experience. 

Q. You state in your report that at a certain time only two men were 
able to assist in managing the boats ? — A. That was in my own boat. 
Sergeant Kenney and Private Murphy were in my boat. 

Q. And how many had Lieutentant Cohvell in his boat who were capa- 
ble of rowing: or manaeino; the sails? — A. He had three <>;ood sailors and 
Moritz, who had had some experience. 

Q. What experience as an ice navigator had Captain Pike, the com- 
mander of the Proteus, had? — A. He had been a master of a steam sealer 
for a great number of years. I think he had commanded the Proteus for 
ten years, wheu he had made his trips to the ice in the spring catching 
seals. He liad also commanded the Proteus when he took Lieutenant 
Greely to the Arctic regions in 1881, but his ice experience of that trip 
was liiuited, as they saw no ice at all until they got within fifteen or twenty 
miles of Discovery Harbor. He had had no ice experience in the Arctic 
regions whatever. 

Q,. You know that from his own statements, do you ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You had no regular ice master on the Prdteus? — A. No, sir; he 
was an ice master. 

Q. There was an ice master on the \' antic ? — A. Yes, sir. 
By the Coukt : 

Q. Who selected the crew of the Proteus ? — A. The owners of the ship. 

Q. Was Captain Pike a scientific, educated seaman? — A. I should say 
not. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did he appear to have any knowledge of the use of nautical or as- 
tronomical instruments? — A. I do not know whether he could take an 
observation with the sextant or not. He would go through the operation 
every noon-day when he could see the sun, but he always went to a differ- 
ent part of the ship from where we were to work out his observations, and 
I have no personal knowledge as to whether he could successfully take a 
time-sight or not. I placed no dependence in his observations, however. 
Lieutenant Colwell always took the observation for position and I of 
course took his data. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 11 

Q. You personally visited the cache at Southeast Carey Island? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q,. What examination did you make of the stores there ? — A. I opened 
two barrels of the bread and two cans of meat — New Zealand beef. 

Q, In what condition were they? — A, One barrel of bread was con- 
siderably spoiled — molded. 

• Q. The ship's bread ? — A. Yes, English ship biscuit. The other barrel, 
on the outer edffcs, was considerably molded, but on tlie interior of the 
barrel the bread was in good condition. 

Q,. How was the meat? — A. One can of meat had just begun to de- 
teriorate ; it was still eatable; and the other can was in perfect condition. 

Q. How much do you suppose you saw there? — A. The cache seemed 
to be in its original condition as far as quantity was concerned. The 
Nares expedition left there 3,600 rations, and it was left as I found it, 
except I took away a water-breaker, as I had none wath my boats. There 
were several barrels of rum in addition to the ordinary rations. 

Q. Was there-any alcohol for cooking apparatus ? — A. I sa\v no alco- 
hol ; I do not remember. 

Q. How was this cache secured? Were the stores in their original 
packages, barrels, or boxes, or how? — A. The bread was in barrels, and 
the cans of meat were lying loose on the level shelves of rock. This 
cache was just on the side of a rocky cliif or small hill. 

Q. Were the barrels water-proof? — A. They had been originally, but 
time had loosened the staves somewhat, and that is why the bread had 
molded; the water had forced its way through. 

Q. Were they covered with snow?- — A. No; there was no snow any- 
where in the vicinity. 

Q. They were not covered with tarpaulin? — A. No, sir; part of the 
stores were under the boat, as many as could be put under there, the boat 
turned upside down, and the rest of them scattered about wherever a place 
could be found to keep them in a stationary condition. 

Q. To protect them from the wind? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. In Lieutenant Greely's instructions he expressed a wish that notice 
should be left at Cape Sabine of the making of a cache at Littleton Island ; 
did you make a cairn at Cape Sabine, or leave any notice where he would 
be able to find it? — A. Before the wreck of the ship I left a notice in the 
cairn made by Major Beebee in 1882. 

Q,. At- Cape Sabine? — A. It M'as on Cape Sabine^ but about four miles 
around the point. 

Q. On a prominent point ? — A. Yes, sir ; and the record that I left 
after the wreck was placed upon the top of Brevoort Island in the same 
cairn left there in 1875 by Sir George Nares^ as the most prominent point 
there, and the one which he would be apt to look for. 

Q,. Had he not visited that point? — A. Not on his way up. 

Q. He had visited Cape Sabine, had he not ? — A. No, sir ; he went 
directly north from Littleton Island when he went up. He stopped at 
Littleton Island only long enough to leave six and a half tons of coal and 
a record. 

Q. Did you examine the Beebe cache at Cape Sabine — Depot A ? — A.. 
I did. 

Q. And found it in good condition ? — A. Just as it was left with the 



12 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

exception of the i)oat. A liole had been stove in the boat when it was 
being placed on the ship in St. John's, and it had been covered with a lead 
patch, so Rogge informed me, and that ])atch had been torn off and the 
bottom of the boat was considerably scarred b v a l^ear's claw, but I think 
it could be repaired with ^'erv little difficulty. 

By the Court : 

Q. In your instructions of June 4, 1883, the paragraph next to the last 

reads thus: 

A ship of the Uuited States Na^"y, the Yaiitic, will accompanj'' you as far as Little- 
ton Island, rendering you such aid as may hecome necessary and as may be determined 
Iiy the captain of that ship and yourself when, on the spot. 

What did you understand by that instruction ? — A. I understood that 
the Yantic was to accompany me as far as Littleton Island, if it could, 
under the conditions of course set forth in the letter asking for it under 
his own insfructions, and give me such assistance as we might determine 
upon. 

Q. What did you understand by the instructions here : 

Such aid as may become necessary and as may be determined by the captain of that 
ship and yovirself when on the spot. 

Did you understand, for instance, that something should be determined 
beforehand at St. John's or that the two ships would keep together 
as they went along and as difficulties might occur you would communi- 
cate with each other and determine upon what should be done then 
and there? — A. [ understood that if the vessel could accompany me it 
was to do so, and that the first instance of meeting ice the Yantic would be 
left, as my orders required me to go straight ahead, to go into the ice and 
make as much northing as possible. I did not consider that there was any 
necessity of the ships going together from St. John's to Disko, because the 
chances were that there would be no obstructions whatever, and that inas- 
much as there was a certain amount of. the stores to be gotten at Disko, and 
other matters to be attended to, having to delay there anyway, I concluded 
that it was best for me to go directly from St. John's to Disko, getting 
there ahead of the Yantic, which was to come by sail and not by steam, 
make my preparations, and have everything ready by the time that ship 
got there, and then if' Commander Wildes • thought it prudent to go on 
with me we. would proceed in company as far as the ice barrier, and when 
we met the ice barrier of course the Yantic would have to stop and seek a 
more circuitous route around it, while I, under my instructions, would go 
into the pack and force my way through. My idea all through was that 
the Yantic was not to interfere in any way Avith me in my progress north. 
If she could get along with me, well and good; if not, I was to leave her. 

Q. As the Proteus was considered a faster boat than the Yantic, even 
when both were under steam, how could you expect her to accompany you 
if you went at full speed? — A. I did not expect her to accompany me. 

Q. Then did that induce you to enter into this agreement with the 
commander of the Yantic? — A. That agreement was made as the result 
of consultation with Commander Wildes, and when he informed me that 
he intended to sail from St. John's to Disko and not use his coal. 

Q. But in this memorandum of agreement it was agreed that the Yan- 
tic would proceed to Disko under sail. It says further: 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 13^ 

J'he Proteus to endeavor to communicate with the Yantic at Pandora Harbor before 
August 25. 

What was your expectation at the time of making this agi^eement as 
to the Yantic proceeding further north than Disko; did yon not expect 
that the Yantic would go as far as Littleton Island at the time you made 
this agreement ? — A. It depended entirely upon circumstances. If she 
met no obstruction and could get to Ijittleton Island of course I thought she 
would go as far as Littleton Island. In fact Commander Wildes assured 
me he would go as far as Littleton Island if it were possible to do so. 
Throughout the whole expedition I expected that the Yantic would 
go to Littleton Island if she met no ice in Melville Bay ; that is,. 
if she did not meet suflicient ice to obstruct her passage. When 
I got to Melville Bav and found that Avhat is known as "the middle 
ice" was still there, with no prospect of its passing out within a reason- 
able time, I concluded that Coiumander Wildes would not put his ship into 
that ice, but would either wait around its southern limits or attempt to get 
around it to the westward ; and inasmuch as this pack, as far as could be 
judged by me on my way up, extended well to the westward, probably 
across Baffin's Bay, I concluded that he would not be able to get tiirough, 
and all my future movements were governed by that opinion, and in this 
opinion I was supported by the opinions of Lieutenant Colwell, Captain 
Pike, the master of the Proteus, and everybody else who ever expressed 
any opinion on the subject. 

Q. But it was your opinion that the Yantic would go as far as Little- 
ton Island if there was a possibility of doing so? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. You thought that was a positive engagement on the part of Com- 
mander Wildes to go to Pandora Harbor? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you not suppose the faith of Commander Wildes was pledged to 
be in Pandora Harbor, except in the face of insurmountable obstacles? — 
A. I of course thought Commander Wildes would go to Littleton Island 
if he could get there without placing his ship in a dangerous position, as 
contemplated by his orders, or without taking such risk as he did not deem 
prudent. 

By the Court : 

Q. Then your idea was that after you left Disko iany dependence upon 
the Yantic being of any assistance to you Avas entirely problematical ? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And therefore you expected to depend upon yourself? — -A. Yes, sir. 

Q. If, when you started, that was your anticipation, of what use was 
the Yantic to your expedition? — A. Practically none ; and I never re- 
garded that she would be of any practical use; that is, the chances were 
against her. She w^ould have been of use if the conditions had been the 
same as when Lieutenant Greely originally went to the Arctic regions ; 
but that was only once in the history of Arctic explorations — the condi- 
tion of the ice as he found it. Every ex])edition that has ever been north, 
as far as I have been able to ascertain, found the ice packed in Melville 
Bay, and Commander Wildes had instructions not to enter the ice-pack. 
I thought all the time, throughout the whole expedition, that even if 



14 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Commander Wildes and myself had sailed together in company, just as 
soon as \\c met the ice-pack a separation was necessary. 

Q, And you met it? — A. Yes, sir; and that the separation would take 
place at that time; this ice-pack m^th the real obstacle anticipated in Mel- 
ville Bay, 

Q,. And yet in one of your reports you refer to the hope, at any rate, of 
meeting the Yantic on your way south? — A._ Yes, sir. 

Q. Upon what did you base that hope?— A. I based that hope upon the 
contingencies of ice navigation ; it is impossible to foresee the conditions of 
the ice even an hour ahead, and the conditions that I saw in Melville Bay 
might have changed entirely within twenty-four hours; the ice might have 
passed out under the influence of the wind. 

Q. As it actually did. — A. As it actually did; and there was that chance 
always of meeting no obstruction in Melville Bay and getting through. 

Q. But in your opinion a large majority of the chances werQ against 
the Yantic coming up ? — A, Yes, sir. 

Q. And that induced you to come down? — A. ITes, sir. It is only one 
hundred and seventy miles across Melville Bay, and vessels can run across 
there in twenty-four hours under favorable circumstances. 

By the Recorded : 

Q. You of course consulted and conferred with Lieutenant Colwell upou 
the question as to what it was advisable to do after the wreck ? — A. I never 
had any strict consultation with him at all. We talked matters over. I 
generally did what I thought best under the circumstances according to 
ray own judgment. 

Q. In view of the possibility that the condition of the ice might change 
and that Melville Bay might be opened after you had left it, was it not 
considered whether it would not be advisable to wait a couple of weeks in 
Pandora Harbor, the rendezvous? — A. I considered all that in my own 
mind, and concluded that it would not be advisable or to the best inter- 
ests of the expedition to remain any time at Littleton Island. 

Q. Or Pandora Harbor? — A. Or Pandora Harbor. There has been a 
good deal of misunderstanding about this Littleton Island. It was never 
contemplated by anybody that anything would be established on Ivittleton 
Island. Littleton Island is simply a barren rock. Life Boat Cove is the 
place that was intended as my depot of supplies, as my winter station. 

Q. What is the condition of the channel between the Carey Islands and 
the mainland ; how did you find it ? — A. There was a good deal of ice 
between the channel and Carey Island when we went up. We sailed up 
to Sander's Island, and we were stopped by ice at Sander's Island and had 
to run to the south quite a distance, and had to make a westward to reach 
Carey Island. 

Q,. In coming south toward Carey Island, how did you come? — A. We 
followed all along the coast from Littleton Island. 

Q. Were you at any time informed by Commander Wildes that his 
instructions contemplated his leaving any provisions or stores at Life Boat 
Cove, or Littleton Island, or Pandora Harbor for the use of the Greely 
expedition ? — A. No, sir ; I was not. 

Q. Or for your use ? — A. No, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 15 

' By the Oouet : 

Q. If, as yoii say, the Yantic was not able to overeome the ordinary 
obstruetions of iee whieh would be found in those seas under the most 
tkvorable eii'euinstanees almost, why was she sent uj) there ? — A. I thought 
she ^^•as sent up simply to satisfy publie opinion, as a good many papers 
had advocated the sending of a vessel, and from the way in which she was 
asked for and all the circumstances connected with the case. 

Q. A proper tender you think ought to have been able to pass through 
the ordinary ice that would have been met there? — A. Certainly. I do 
not see what advantage a tender can be to an Arctic ship unless it is adapted 
to contend against the ice. 

Q. Certainly, without referring to the heaviest ice you would meet, but 
the ordinary ice you would meet? — A. The ice of Melville Bay. Mel- 
ville Bay has Arctic ice in it together with the ice which forms there. The 
ice comes down out of Smith's Sound and is taken up in the pack and 
frozen in \yith the ice which forms in Melville Bay from winter to winter, 
and you, really meet Arctic ice in Melville Bay. 

Q. So that knowing the character of the Yantic and all the circum- 
stances surrounding the case, as I understand it, you thought that the 
great probabilities were that she would not reach Littleton Island from 
your experience in crossing Melville Bay ? — A. I thought so. 

Q. And you therefore acted upon that opinion ? — A. I acted upon that 
opinion. 

Q. And with that opinion you were induced to enter into that agree- 
ment with the commander of the Yantic, because you did not believe she' 
could keep up with you in any way? — A, Yes, sir; that was my belief, 
and that was the belief, as far as I could learn, of every officer on board 
the Yantic. None of them anticipated going into the ice. They w^ere 
not prepared to go into the ice. There was no Arctic clothing on the ship. 
The crew, instead of being decreased, received a draft of men in New 
York while we were getting under way almost. 

By the Recordee : 

Q. The com23lement of the ship was eighty men? — A. One hundred 
and thirty-four, I think. 

Q. The ordinary complement was eighty men ? — A. No, sir ; her com- 
plement was one hundred and thirty-four men, I think. I think she went 
within two or three men of a full complement. 

At this point, 3 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m., the court adjourned until 
11 a. m. to-morrow. 



WASHINaTON, D. C, 

Wednesday, November 14, 1883 — 11 a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder and reporter ; also the witness under examination, Lieuten- 
ant Garlington, and his counsel, Mr. Kent. 

The proceedings of the court from the time of the organization of the 
court were then read. 



16 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Mr. (Tarliiigtoo, referring to the question on page 10: 

Now, of these thirteen men constituting yonr party, h\)w many, if any, had had any 
nautical experience or education ? 

stated that he had in his mind the party as it left New York, but in 
addition to this he desires to say that Lieutenant Colwell, of the Navy, 
of course, was a practical seaman, as also the three men hired in St. John's. 
The record being corrected was approved by the court, whereupon 

Lieut. Ernest A. Garlington resumed the stand. 
By the Recorder : 

Question. I will ask you whether all those thirteen men were with you 
at the time of the wreck? — Answer. Yes, sir; those thirteen and two 
Eskimo. 

Q,. Those constituted your entire party — fifteen ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the number of the crew of the Proteus? — A. Twenty- 
two men. 

Q. Including everybody ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were they shipped from the class of men who usually go out seal- 
ing at St. John's, Newfoundland ? — A. They were not shipped from the 
best class of Newfoundland sealers. The vessel was secured so late that 
almost all of the sealers had been engaged for the cod fisheries of the 
season, and these men were picked up about St. John's, 

Q. Did Captain Pike make any statement to you about that? — A. He 
made a statement to me to that eifect ; that the crew w^as not the kind of 
a crew he would have liked to have gone into the Arctic regions with ; 
that it was much inferior to the crew he had when he went with Lieuten- 
ant Greely. 

By the Court: 
Q. When did he make that statement.? — A. That was after the wreck. 
Q. Had not the naval officers something to do with the selection of* the 
men ? — A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q,. There was a naval officer sent to inspect the vessel, was there not ? — 
A. Yes, sir. The owners of the Proteus, I think, promised General 
Hazen to furnish a select crew. 

Q,. You have stated in your report the misbehavior of the crew or some 
of them at the time of the wreck. Now I would like you to inform the 
court if you can to what extent in saving stores that misbehavior ope- 
ated to your prejudice; how much do you suppose you might have saved 
if the crew of the Proteus had worked as well as your own men? — A. I 
could have gotten out a great many more stores on the ice, but I could not 
have saved any more stores than I did save ; that is, absolutely save them. 
I could not have gotten them on the land. 

Q. In view of the ice and all the circumstauces you do not think you 
could have saved anything more ? — A. No. sir. 

Q. So that the misbehavior of these men did not contribute to the re- 
sult of the expedition ? — A. Not at all as to saving stores, or in any way. 

Q. [Submitting a paper to witness.] I would ask you to identify your 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 17 

supplementary report that has been read here^ a copy of which is attached 
as an exhibit? — A. That is my original report in my own handwriting. 

Q. The facts stated there are true to your knowledge ? — A. They are. 

Q. This was one of the exhibits to your first report? [Submitting an- 
other paper.] — A. It is luclosure 2 to Appendix A to my first report. 

Q. And also to your original instructions? — A. Yes, sir. 

(A copy of the paper referred to, being instructions for closing scientific 
Mork at Fort Conger, is attached to the record.) 

Q. [Submitting another paper to witness.] This is Inclosure 3 to 
your instructions, is it not ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. A list of stores invoiced to you by Lieutenant Craig? — A. No, sir; 
not invoiced. They were not invoiced to me. It is a list of stores in- 
voiced to Lieutenant Greely, and left at St. John's by Mr. Beebe in 1882. 

Q. Did you not take them with you ? — A. Yes, sir. Some of these 
stores, enumerated in this paper, had been left in the caches by Mr. Beebe 
on the coast of Greenland. 

Q. Had you any list of the other stores that you took wdth you ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. Have you that list ? — A. I have a list of all the subsistence stores, 
but all the rest of my papers were lost in the wreck. The invoices and 
the list made were lost when the ship went down. 

Q. Have you that list of the subsistence stores in your possession ? — A. 
Yes, sir ; I liave. 

Q,. You still retain it? — A. Yes, sir. 

(The witness is here shown a letter from Fort Conger, Grinnell Land, 
dated August 17, 1881, signed by Lieutenant Greely, being one of the 
papers received from the War Department, a copy of which is annexed.) 

Q. Is that a part of your instructions — tlie inclosure to j'our instruc- 
tions? — A. Yes, sir ; that is an original. 

Q. [Submitting a paper.] This is the unsigned paper, beginning with 
tlie words "the naval tender to join the Proteus at St. John's, New- 
foundland, and proceed with her to liittleton Island," which you found in 
your instructions ? — A. Yes, sir ; that is the paper. 

Q. In Avhose handwriting is that paper, if you know ? — A. A clerk in 
the Signal Office, 

Q. What indorsements had it on it when you received it? — A. None 
whatever; the letter A, the figure 5, and the initials E. A. G. were placed 
upon it by me as an inclosure to my report; the words Appendix A and 
Inclosure 5 were written by Lieutenant Caziare in pencil. 

Q. When was that done? — A. After I came back. 

Q. Do you know where it was done? — A. It was done at his desk in 
the Signal Office; I saw him when he \vrote it; he wrote it there simply, 
I suppose, to identify it. 

Q. What does that Appendix A, Inclosure 5, refer to, if you know? — 
A. It refers to the first appendix to my report, and Inclosure 5 is the fifth 
paper. I referred to it in my report as a memorandum marked 5. 

Q. These others are office marks? — A. Yes, sir; all made since I came 
back to the United States. 

Q. [Submitting another paper to witness.] That is the original memo- 
randum of agreement between yourself and the conunander of the Yan- 
tic? — A. No, sir; it is a copy, 
S. Ex. 100 2 



18 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Where is the origiual? — A. In my possession. 

Q. In whose handwriting is this ? — A. That is my handwriting. 

Q. Whose handwriting is the original? — A. In the handwriting of 
Naval Cadet Howard, the clerk of Commander Wildes. 

Q. This embodies the only arrangement made by you with the Com- 
mander of the Yantic in reference to your joint movements ? — A. It does. 

By the Court : 

Q. That agreement was signed by yourself and Commander Wildes ? — 
A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. But it was read by Commander Wildes ? — A. It was prepared by 
Commander Wildes. 

Q. Did you ask for any other arrangement? — A. No, sir; that was 
the only arrangement that I thought could be carried out under the cir- 
cumstances, or that there was any certainty of carrying out. There was 
always the chance of the Yantic being able to reach Littleton Island, of 
course. 

By the Court : 
Q,. What thickness of ice could the Yantic go through, do you sup- 
pose? — A. I do not think he would have been justified in putting the 
ship into any fast ice. Her bows were not strengthened at all on the 
inside. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. At the time this agreement was made, did Commander Wildes say 
anything to you or in your presence by way of qualification or exception 
to the written terms ? — A. Commander Wildes always assured me that if 
it were a ])ossible thing he would go to Littleton Island. 

Q. But I would like you to confine your recollection, if it is possible, to 
the time when this was made. Was it made on board ship? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. In his cabin ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Now, can you recall what occurred, what was said by Commander 
Wildes? — A. I was not present when the paper was written; the paper 
was written after consultation with Commander Wildes ; I was with him 
in his cabin all the way up from New York; we talked the matter over 
continuously almost, in a general way, and that paper was written as the 
result of all these conversations as to what the ship would be able to do. 

Q. Who gave you this paper? — A. Naval Cadet Howard. It was sent 
over to me at the hotel in St. John's by Commander Wildes. 

Q,. Did you have any subsequent conversation with Commander Wildes 
in reference to it? — A. No, sir. 

By the Court : 

Q. What was your understanding when you left St. John's ; was it that 
the two ships were necessarily to be together after you left there ? — A. 
No, I expected to see the ship at Disko. 

Q,. And after leaving Disko that they should not necessarily be to- 
gether or leave together, but that the Yantic should reach Littleton Island 
at some time in the future if it could get there ? — A. If it could get there. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 19 

Q. But you did not expect it necessarily to leave Disko in your com- 
pany? — A. Not necessarily. I intended to wait at Disko until the arrival 
of the Yautic there and to proceed in company with her if she would go 
along; but I did not intend to wait any length of time at Disko in order 
to have her accompany me. 

Q, And that was the understanding between you and Captain Wildes? 
— A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. You distinctly remember the specific fact that Commander Wildes 
told you that under his instructions he could not go into the ice? — A. 
Into the ice-pack. 

Q. And you understood that this agreement was conditioned upon 
that statement? — A. Certainly. 

Q. In this agreement I observe these words : 

Should Proteus be lost, push a boat or party south to Yantic. 

Pandora Harbor will be headquarters, but before departure Yantic will run up to 
Littleton Island. 

Now, what was understood by pushing a boat south to Yantic? — A. It was 
understood, as it says, that in case the Proteus was lost immediate effort was 
to be made to communicate with the Yantic, and if she had gotten through 
Melville Bay and had gotten up as far as Pandora Harbor, and the Proteus 
had gotten well into the ice-pack in Smith's Sound and had been lost fur- 
ther up, or anyAvhere after she got into the ice, of course that referred more 
particularly to sending a boat down to the vicinity of Littleton Island un- 
der the supposition that she would succeed in getting that far. 

By the Court : 

Q. From your instructions, as you understood them, you considered it 
your duty not to stop at Littleton Island on your way up, but to go as far 
as you could and make a depot of supplies if you did not get up to Lieu- 
tenant Greely's colony, and to make your depot of supplies as you came 
back, not as you went up ? — A. That is what I understood from my in- 
structions. 

Q. Then you say in one of your letters, in your last report, I think, 
that you went south in your boats after the loss of the Proteus, hoping to 
meet the Yantic and to come back with the Yantic to Littleton Island in 
order to make a depot there, and yourself and some of the men spend the 
winter there ; what expectation had you of meeting the Yantic in going- 
down ? How near did you expect to meet her in order to be able to carry 
out that purpose? — A. I always had in view the chance of her getting 
through Melville Bay, and if she got through the Melville Bay ice, and 
entered the north water, she would have no obstruction from that point to 
Littleton Island, and there would be no difficulty in getting through, be- 
cause throughout the season the upper part of Baffin's Bay and south of 
Smith's Sound, what is known as ''the north water," is always open, 
and it was in the hope that she had met the lucky chance and succeeded 
in getting through Melville Bay. 

Q. So as to be at any rate as far north as Cape York? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How did you expect to get provisions up to Littleton Island from 
the steamship Yantic when you left that Island on your way south ? — A. 
I expected to have taken them there under the answer that I have just 



20 PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

given. I hoped to meet the Yantic north of Cape York ; that is, on the 
northern side of the pack-ice in Melville Bay, and, as I said before, there 
would be no obstruction to her getting to Littleton Island after she got 
through the pack-ice in Melville Bay. 

Q,. That is the way you expected to carry them up — on the Yantic ? — 
A. Yes, sir. ^ 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Do I understand you hoped that the Yantic would be able to fur- 
nish provisions? — A. Yes, sir; I hoped that she would be able to furnish 
provisions if she understood that my provisions had been lost and I had 
succeeded in saving no provisions. 

Q. But you had no information that she had received any instructions 
to do so? — A. No; it was not necessary. I thought, of course, that 
there would be no instructions necessary to furnish these provisions; that 
the circumstances of the case would demand the provisions. 

By the Court : 
Q. There seems to have been some room for question as to the true 
meaning of the requests made by Lieutenant Greely in his letter of 
August 17, 1881, from Fort Conger, as to when those depots should be 
established ; whether on the way up or whether on the return. Had there 
been any discussion as to the construction to be given to that language 
before you left there ? — A. No, sir. The Neptune, that had gone up under 
the same instructions, under that same letter, established her depots after 
the officer in charge had concluded it was impossible to proceed further 
north. It was after he gave up the hope of getting through the ice 
around Bache Island that he established Depot A on the shores of Cape 
Sabine, and Depot B at Littleton Island. 

By the Recorder : 
Q,. And under Lieutenant Greely 's letter the depots to be established 
by the expedition of 1883 were to be intermediate? — A. He went on 
the supposition that the expedition of 1882 would establish Depot A as 
far north as possible, saying in his letter that no southing should be per- 
mitted. But this depot had been established really about the point at 
which he recommended in the latterpartof his letter the establishment of a 
depot by the expedition of 1 883 ; that is, at a point between Cape Sabine 
and Bache Island; and that depot really was put in in 1882 five miles 
from Cape Sabine and was placed where he desired it on Littleton Island. 
The depots that I had to establish were, one to be as far north as pos- 
sible at the extreme point that I reached, and the other was to be placed at 
such a point along the coast as it was most needed, and in addition to those 
depots I had prepared in Disko two additional depots of the same size — two 
hundred and fifty rations — which I intended to place along the coast of 
Grinnell Land at a point where I thought best, where they would be most 
available, and I also intended to leave at Cape Prescott, the point I was 
making for when the ship was caught in the ice, this whale-boat that Lieu- 
tenant Greely asked to have left by the preceding expedition ; and, in ad- 
dition, I intended to make a large depot on my way up, either at Cape 
Prescott or Franklin Pierce Bay, as I considered that point as a place 
where a depot would be most needed by parties retreating from the north- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 21 

ward, because it is north of Princess Marie Bay, and the greatest obstacle 
to be overcome in his retreat to the southward would naturally be from 
the land just north of that bay, across it round Bache Island and across 
Buchanan Straits over to the mainland or Cape Sabine. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did you not expect to make a depot at Littleton Island as you came 
down? — A. No, sir; my orders required me to go into winter- quarters 
at Life-Boat Cove. 

Q,. I mean in the vicinity of that place ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. And you were prepared to do that ? — A. Yes, sir ; but I wanted to 
make this larger depot at Cape Prescott, so that if Lieutenant Greely suc- 
ceeded in getting down that far. The probabilities were that he would meet 
with delay there on account of the currents and high tide keeping that ice 
more or less broken up in those inlets very late in the season. And again, 
I thought it extremely improbable that he would be able to cross Smith's 
Sound in the fall of the year and would probably, if he succeeded in get- 
ting as far down as Cape Prescott, have to remain there a large portion of 
the winter. 

By the Eecoeder : 

Q. I intended to ask you before whether you had a large supply of rock- 
ets to use in winter time? — A. I did. I had rockets and Coston lights. 

Q. Did you succeed in saving them or bringing any away with you ? — 
A. No, sir. 

Q. Had you plenty of matches ? — A. Yes, I had an ample supply of 
matches and saved them ; I had them placed where I could get them. 

Q. How were they put up so as to be protected from the weather? — A. 
In water-tight tin boxes. 

Q. Were your subsistence stores selected with reference to the needs of 
the climate; did you have the proper proportion of antiscorbutics? — A. 
They were. General Hawkins took great interest in the stores and gave 
the matter his personal attention. He told me he thought it was the best 
lot of stores that had ever been sent out of New York. 

By Mr. Kent: 

Q. Upon reading your instructions given by the Signal Office, bearing 
date June 4, 1883, what did you conceive to be the leading thought in 
those instructions as to your duty in the premises? — A. To reach Discov- 
ery Harbor with the ship if it were within the range of possibility. 

Q. Did you understand that those instructions directed that you should 
only deposit your party and stores at or near Life-Boat Cove when it be- 
came clearlv apparent that the vessel could not be pushed through? — A. I 
did. 

Q. Now, did anything ever occur in the Signal Office, before your de- 
parture upon this expedition, which contemplated the suggestion as far as 
you knew that you should leave any stores at Littleton Island upon your 
way north? — A. No, sir; none whatever. 

Q. Was it ever discussed in the Signal Office, as far as you know, in 
your presence or to your knowledge? — A. No, sir. 

Q. The only reference then to it, as I understand, was when you saw 
it in the paper marked memorandum of instructions ? — A. That is the 
only time. 



22 . PEOCEEDTNGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. And then you called General Hazeu's attention to it ? — A. I did. 

Q. And his reply was as stated in your examination ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You had no authority or control in any way over the Yantic? — A, 
None whatever. 

Q. The paper which is referred to here as the unsigned agreement be- 
tween Commander Wildes and yourself you say was prepared by him and 
was submitted to you as the result of your conference? — A. Y^es, sir. 

Q. In which he determined upon his course as to sailing and whether 
he would accompany you or not ? — A. Y"es, sir. 

Q. \¥ill you state your view of Lieutenant Greely's instructions as to 
the order in which the depots provided for should be made ; that is, 
whether Depot A should be made before Depot B, and where Depot A was 
situated with reference to Depot B ? — A. Depot A was to be established 
at the extreme northern point that the vessel which went up in 1882 should 
reach, and Depot B was to be established when the ship went south after 
having arrived at the decision that it was impossible to get any farther 
north. 

Q. Littleton Island was designated as Depot B? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Then it contemplated the establishment of Depot A north of Little- 
ton Island before the establishment of the depot at Littleton Island? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. You state in your report that when you passed Littleton Island on 
your way northward the weather was good and that there was an open 
sea. How long would you have been delayed in lauding the stores at 
Littleton Island if you had stopped at that time? — A. To have landed 
all the stores it would have taken sixty or seventy hours. 

Q. What was the probability in that region of your passage being ob- 
structed within that time, whereas at that time you had an open sea? — A, 
The entire conditions might have changed within that time ; the move- 
ments of the ice-pack cannot be foreseen at all ; it is arguing on chances 
all the way through. 

Q. Then you considered that in your eiforts to get north every day's 
delay might be disastrous ? — A. I did. 

Q. And that it was your duty to push forward northward whenever 
the conditions permitted ? — A. Yes, sir ; and I was ordered in my in- 
structions to take advantage of every favorable lead. 

Q. Did you consider that branch of your instructions paramount to the 
clause in your instructions which informed you that the Yantic would ac- 
company you as tender? — A. I did. 

Q. Then you did not consider that it was your duty under your in- 
structions to wait for the Yantic? — A. No, sir. 

Q. But to push forward with the hope that the Yantic might accom- 
pany you? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. The recorder, iu a question, said to you that you of course consulted 
and conferred with Lieutenant Colwell upon the question as to wiiat it 
was advisable to do after the wreck. Do you desire to give a fuller answer 
to that question than that given when the question was propounded ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. State it. — A. In the answer I made I had reference particularly to 
immediately after the wreck in arriving at my decision to come south, but 
in all subsequent movements I consulted freely with Lieutenant Colwell 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 23" 

in regard to all movements. We were in accord in all of our subsequent 
movements. 

Q. When did you first see your instructions bearing date June 4, 
1883? — A, I think in the latter part of April. I saw them in the rougii 
after they had been prepared. 

Q. Where did you see them and under what circumstances? — A. They 
were referred to me by order of the Chief Signal Officer for any remarks 
that I might choose to make on them, as they were referred to every 
officer on duty in the Signal Department, with orders to submit such addi- 
tions, changes, or any recommendations that they might see fit to make. 

Q. Were those instructions submitted to you as all the instructions that 
were then prepared in the office on that subject? — A. They were. 

Q. When did you first hear, then, of the paper described as the supple- 
mental instructions? — A. I saw it while it was being Mritten by Lieuten- 
ant Caziarc. 

Q. How long subsequent to the time when you saw the original instruc- 
tions? — A. It was about the middle of May, after General Hazen had gone 
to St. John's; I do not remember the exact date; I think it was some- 
where between the 15th and 20th of May; probably a little later. 

Q. Then you heard no more of those supplementary instructions until 
you saw them in your envelope? — A. No, sir; nothing at all. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Referring again to that agreement between yourself and the com- 
mander of the Yantic, I understood you to say in reply to the question of 
the counsel that in that agreement Conmiauder Wildes announced his in- 
tentions to you, but you still adhere to your answer that in that paper was 
embodied your agreement with him subsequent to your conversations, do 
you not ? — A. I do not understand the point you make, 

Q. That paper between Commander Wildes and yourself embodied an 
agreement actually made between you? — A. Yes, it was an agreement en- 
tered into by Commander Wildes and myself. 

Q. And you did not solicit him to make any other arrangement? — A. 
I did not. 

By the Court: 

Q. Did you raise any objection to any of the points made in the agree- 
ment? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Or protest against anything? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Therefore you agreed to that as the best to be done under the cir- 
cumstances ? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q,. It was put into writing correctly? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. Did you see Commander Wildes after receiving that agreement ? — 
A. Yes, sir. That is, the agreement made between Commander Wildes 
and myself. There is no dispute about it at all. 

The examination was concluded with the understanding that the wit- 
ness might be recalled at any time. 

The recorder then presented to the court some additional papers received 
from the Signal Office, being certified copies of the records in relation to 
the original project of Lieutenant Greely for an Arctic colony and some 



24 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

papers bearing iipou the quantity of" supplies in the possession of Lieuten- 
ant Greely at the time of his arrival at Lady Fi'anklin Bay. Also copy 
of a letter of the Chief Signal Officer, dated May 14, 1883, requesting that 
the Secretary of the Navy be asked to furnish a ship as a tender to the 
Proteus, which papers were read and are attached as exhibits, whereupon 

General William B. Hazen was sworn and examined as follows : 

By the Recorder : 
Question. Will yon please state as concisely as you may see fit, in nar- 
rative form, your knowledge of this expedition for the relief of Lieutenant 
Greely and so much of your knowledge of the Greely expedition as may 
seem to you to bear npon the questions before the court. — Answer. The ex- 
pedition to Lady Franklin Bay was conceived, and the law for it was passed, 
before I came to Washington as Chief Signal Officer. I took charge of the 
office in D.ecember, 1880. Some time after I had been here my attention 
was called to the fact that there was a law upon that subject that seemed 
to require some action, and that one of the officers, Mr. Greely, was very 
anxious to progress with the expedition, which had already been begun, 
and interested himself very much in it and interested me to the extent of 
endeavoring to see the law executed. I called for all the papers in this 
case and all knowledge that could be given me. I found the law on the 
statute-book excepting that it was then waiting for money to be appro- 
priated to carry it out. Mr. Greely brought to my notice the plans of the 
year previously and also his own plan, which only differed in a few par- 
ticulars from the plan of the year before. He virtually adopted that plan. 
The only material difference was that in place of enlisting men particu- 
larly for the service he would use soldiers and hire a sealing ship in place 
of using a ship of the Navy. The plans were carried on and elaborated 
with great care and attention and industry, Mr. Greely himself taking 
chief charge. Congress passed the appropriation, amounting to |30,000, 
I think. Mr. Greely had already secured the approval of Mr. Ramsay, 
the then Secretary of War, who, however, was relieved before the plan was 
executed, and the plans were then afterward approved by his successor, the 
present Secretary of War, and the expedition was carried on to its execution 
as rapidly and as efficiently as it seemed possible to do. Mr. Greely saw 
himself to the hiring of the ship, which was the Proteus, at St. John's, New- 
foundland. The men were detailed from the northwest. They were en- 
listed men, supposed to be inured to cold weather, and the expedition 
sailed from St. John's probably in the first week of July, 1881. The ship 
got through to Lady Franklin Bay and returned in an unprecedentedly 
short time. It had a remarkable trip, making the round trip in about 
sixty-one days. There was at that time no serious obstacle in the ice at 
any place as reported by Mr. Greely. He retained the ship six or seven 
days, only until his house was in fair way of completion, and she was then 
returned and discharged, he sending back a great number of requisitions 
and papers, and among others a detailed plan for the operation of the next 
ship or ships that should be sent for his supply or relief. The next year, 
1882, an expedition was fitted out in exact accordance with his recom- 
mendations, fully provisioned and supplied, and was sent, but did not 
reach within one hundred and fifty miles of his place. It remained 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROIEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 25 

in those waters some four or six weeks, I do not remember the exact date, 
but in that time every effort seemed to have been made to get through to 
Lady Franklin Bay ; but up to the time the steamer returned the ice was 
not broken up, and after making the effort to get through the ship re- 
turned safely to St. John's and was discharged. Early in the winter 
of 1882-'8o preparations were made for sending the second relief ship. 
An officer was asked to be detailed, and Lieutenant Garlington, of 
the Seventh Cavalry, was ordered to report and take charge of the ship. 
He reported probably in February, and gave his whole attention to 
that Avork. The expedition was fitted out with every care which was 
possible and following accurately the directions of Mr. Greely. I went my- 
self to St. John's to hire a ship, and was fortunate in hiring the Proteus, the 
same ship and the same captain that had been successful with Mr. Greely, 
iind I also arranged with, or at least made an official request that a tender, 
i\ ship of the Navy, be sent to Grinnell Land. Those ships got off not 
far from the 1st of July, and proceeded on their cruise. They became 
."Separated, for what reasons I do not know, and the Proteus, in making 
]^rogress to reach Lady Franklin Bay, probably a hundred and thirty or 
one hundred and forty miles before reaching it, was nipped in the ice and 
.«unk. After making such efforts as seemed possible to make depots and 
secure the property, particularly food and clothing, he did so, and cached 
what he could save upon the west side of Smith's Sound, near Cape Sabine. 
He then fell back wdth his men until he was joined by the convoy, bring- 
ing all his men back, and reported on his arrival at St. John's. That is in 
l>rief the narrative. Immediately after my return from St. John's, where I 
had been to employ the Proteus, I was informed that the Navy Department 
liad asked for a plan of what we wished done in the Arctic seas. I do 
not think I saw tiiat memorandum. I do not remember of seeing it at 
that time, but I was told what it contained ; that it contained a condition 
to laud the stores on going up. I immediately went to the Navy Depart- 
ment and had an interview with either the Secretary of the Navy, or Com- 
modore Walker, or whoever was in charge at that time, and told him per- 
sonally what I wanted. It was this : That the tender or escort proceed 
northward with the Proteus as far as Littleton Island and do such things 
as were usual for an escort to do or intended to be done on such occasions, 
and such things as the developments and the facts found upon the spot 
might seem necessary to be agreed upon. I also carried or sent in place of 
the memorandum the orders prepared for Mr. Garlington on that trip. I 
also sent with it the letter which Lieutenant Greely had sent back after 
having arrived at Lady Franklin Bay, on which Mr. Garlington's order 
was founded. I thought they were better adapted or suited to the expe- 
dition, and they took the place of that memorandum, as I understood. A 
day or two after, perhaps the next day, Mr. Garlington brought me his packet 
of orders, and in that packet was this same memorandum. He expressed 
some surprise at finding it there and asked me how it got there. I told 
him that I did not know. I told him that it was no part of his orders, 
and then I gave him the history of the paper as I have given it here. 
Mr. Garlington then showed me all of his orders and I told him 
that he must be controlled by the orders that I had given him, and 
also by the directions of Mr. Greely's letter on which they w^ere 



26 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

founded; that that letter of Mr. Greely's, written as it was after he 
had arrived on the spot, Avas laM'^ to me, and T did not feel that 
I was authorized to change that order or to give him any orders that would 
conflict with it. I told him also that when on the spot he must exercise 
in all matters that discretion whicli every distant commander must exercise^ 
which reposes in him by virtue of his office. I told him that he had my 
full confidence and I expected him to exercise his discretion in matters a^ 
they would develop themselves on the spot. Mr. Garlington had been 
selected for known high qualities, and the Greely letter was of that nature 
and charactei', written as it was after he had arrived there, knowing all the 
facts as no other man in the Avorld could know them ; that I felt that I was ex- 
cluded from giving Lieutenant Garlington any orders that v/onld in any man- 
ner conflict with his directions. After Congress last winter had passed a la\v- 
requiring that the Greely expedition be brought back this year and before 
the second ship or a convoy was thought of, it seemed to me that it would 
be necessary for the expedition going up to vary the Greely instructions 
so far as to land at Littleton Island and land the stores. That plan was 
thought of a great deal, and it was discussed a great deal, as was the plaa 
also of making the depot on the west side of Smith's Sound. But after it 
was arranged to send a tender — that of itself would be a depot, there being 
also several small depots along that coast — I determined to return strictly 
to the Greely memoranda, and after that did so. It seemed to me that the 
sending of the tender obviated the absolute necessity of varying Mr. Greely's 
directions in any way; I was, however, very anxious to order Mr. Gar- 
lington to stop at Littleton Island, but it seemed to me under the circum- 
stances that a bare suggestion would be all that I ought to give him; that 
I ought to leave him with his mind unbiased aucl unclouded, to act as the 
circumstances on the spot might dictate, with full knowledge of Mr. Greely's 
letter ; he having this memoranda, which he read to me, it seemed to me 
that that was a sufficient suggestion, and I said nothing further about it : 
Mr. Garlington was possessed of full knowledge of the entire scheme and 
entire plan from the beginning, and I thought it best to leave it to him to 
exercise his entire discretion in regard to matters so far as he could while 
carrying out also the letter of Mr. Greely and the instructions which were 
based upon that; it seemed to me that everything which by very great care 
and attention could be thought of was placed at his disposal, and I did not 
feel that I was authorized to give him detailed instructions as to his duties, 
after he had arrived on the spot, further than to conform to the orders 
which he already had and that were based upon Mr. Greely's letter. 

Q. Was any plan of rescue or relief matured with Lieutenant Greely 
before he left that you know of ?^ — A. Yes, sir. The matter was thought 
of very carefully and the plan was elaborated. It is contained in his 
original order establishing his expedition. 

Q. Directing him to retreat by way of Griunell Land? — A. Yes, sir„ 
[Reading.] 

In case no vessel reaehes the permanent station in 1882, tlie vessel sent in 1883 will 
remain in Smith's Sound until there is danger of its closing by ice, and on leaving will 
land all her supplies and a party at Littleton Island, which party will be prepared for 
a winter's stay and will be instructed to send sledge parties up the east side of Grinnell 
Land to meet this party. If not visited in 1882, Lieutenant Greely will abandon his 
station not later than September 1, 1883, and will retreat southward by boat, following 
closely the east coast of Grinnell Land until the relieving vessel is met or Littleton Island 
is reached. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 27 

That was prepared in Mr. Greely's presence^ and he probably wrote that 
clause. 

Q. It agrees with his directions written from Fort Conger? — A. Yes,, 
sir. 

Q,. Was the latitude given hira as to the date of his retreat that he 
should retreat not later than September 1, 1883, duly considered ? — A. Not 
hiter than that. 

Q,. When the travel at that time is so impracticable ? — A, That matter 
is something which was very carefully considered, and the authorities 
upou the subject were very carefully looked up and studied by Mr. Greely 
himself, and that was the date which he fixed upon as the date which he 
^vished to begin his retreat. 

Q. Was the appropriation for this expedition as large as you had asked 
for ? — A. I think the appropriation was as large as I had asked for. 1 
had great difficulty in getting appropriations for the Signal Bureau, and I 
was led to make it as small as I could. Nearly all my appropriations 
were cut down very largely, and I made this appropriation no larger than 
would be necessary for one trip, and all the money asked for that one ex- 
pedition was granted. 

Q. Mr. Garlington's expedition you speak of? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Lieutenant Garlington states in his report, and testified here, that he 
was unable to find the arms provided for the expedition because the cargo 
was sent on in advance of his arrival at St. John's, and that though he ap- 
plied for permission to go by the Alharabra for the purpose of seeing how 
the cargo was stowed and where the things were, that permission was not 
granted him, and hence when he arrived there he was in utter ignorance of 
where his important stores, those necessary in an emergency, were placed. 
Can you explain that? — A. He did make such an application to go on the 
Alhambra, but it was thought best that he should go with the men. There 
was great disposition on the part of these men to desert. Several desertions 
of the men brought down for that purpose occurred, and it was thought 
best that he should go and stay with them. But the matter of the stores - 
I thought was sufficiently provided for. There was a sergeant, who had 
gone up with an expedition heretofore, who had charge of all the stores. He 
was a sort of a supercargo. He knew everything about the stores and had 
charge of those that had been kept over from the last year, and he was or- 
dered to go on the Alhambra to St. John's and take charge of loading all 
of these stores upon the Proteus according to a plan that was given him, 
and to be able to report to Mr. Garlington on his arrival just where every- 
thing was loaded. On the arrival of the Alhambra at Halifax he reported 
here that he had fallen down a hatchway and was unable to proceed. 
Not believing fully his report, I telegraphed him that his duties were so 
important that he must proceed as well as he could and attend to his du- 
ties after arriving there. It seems that he never received this dispatch, 
but returned to this city. When he returned here I caused him to be ex- 
amined by a surgeon, and the impression was left upou the minds of the 
surgeon and myself that he had feigned this trouble in order to get back, 
and he is now undergoing trial by court-martial on charges to that effect. 
That was the reason why I did uot think it best to send Mr. Garlington, 
to load the ship. 

Q. [Submitting a paper to witness.] Look at this paper, a letter dated 
]May 14, 1883, to the Secretary of War, asking that the Secretary of the 



28 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 



Navv be requested to furnish a naval ship as tender for the Proteus, the 
letter being from the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, which is a copy of 
the records of the Signal Office furnished the court. — A. [After examin- 
ing the same.] That is correct. 

Q. Does this comprise all of the correspondence on the subject of the 
tender? — A. Yes, sir; it comprises all the written correspondence that I 
know of. 

Q. Was your interview at the Navy Department subsequent or prior 
to that? — A. That ^vas subsequent to that; that Nvas the first paper when 
it was first talked of calling for a naval ship. 

Q. Do you remember with whom you had that conference ? — A. With 
Commodore Walker, probably. I had many conferences, and nearly all 
of them were M'ith Commodore Walker. 

Q. Was the subject of the Yantic acting as a depot discussed ? — A. Not 
specially as a depot. That was covered by the discussion to the effect that 
the Yantic should go to Ijittleton Island and should act there according 
as the emergencies might require. 

Q. Was any assurance given you that the Yantic would provide pro- 
visions for the Greely or the Garlington parties ? — A. No ; there was no 
assurance of that. 

Q. And no request that it should? — A. No. 

Q. Does the correspondence that has been furnished us contain all the 
material papers in relation to the subject? — A. I think it does. It cer- 
tainly does the material papers. 

Q. All the material information bearing upon the rescue of Lieutenant 
Greely or for his relief in 1883? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Have you any means of stating to the court what rations Lieutenant 
Greely had? — A. I have a statement of the rations taken with him. Shall 
I ^ead it ? 

Q. If you please. — A. [Reading.] 

iSuhsititence stores taken by Lieut. A. W. Greely on expedition to Lady Franliin Bap, 1881. 



1, 000 lbs. codfish. 
3,000 " pemican. 

212 " bacon. 

729 '• bam. 
3, 000 ' ' bacon. 
9,600 "pork. 

96 cans salmon (2 lbs.). 

23 barrels beef, salt. 

864 cans " corned (2 lbs.) 
120 '" " roast (2 lbs.). 

24 " mutton (2 lbs.). 
48 " crab meat (1 lb.). 

6, 450 lbs. family flour. 



500 
1,720 

140 

280 

980 
17, 899 
1, 264 
1,395 " 

576 cans 



maccaroni. 
oatmeal, 
cracked wheat, 
farina, 
corn meal, 
hard bread, 
beans, 
beans. 

baked (3 



lbs 



420 lbs. pease, split. 
595 " rice. 
1, 120 cans hominy (10 lbs.). 



Reduced to the 

Army ration. 

1,125] 

3,000 

322 

911 

3, 750 

12, 000 

192 

5,750 

2,160 

240 

48 

48 

5,644 

500 

1, 505 
123 
280 
735 

17, 899 J 

8, 200 ] 

9, 300 I 
. 3, 800 [ 

2, 800 1 
5, 950 I 
2, 400 J 



Equal to 29, 498 rations of meats, being ra- 
tions for 25 men 39] months. 



Equal to 26,734 rations of breadstuffs, being 
rations for 25 men 35i months. 



Equal to 32,450 rations of beans, rice, &c., 
being rations for 25 men 43} months. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 



2^ 



Subsistence stores taken hi/ Lieut. A. If. Oreeli/, d-e. — Continued. 



Reduced to the 
Aviuy ration. 



1,900 lbs. coffee, R. &G. \ 

196 " coffee, R. &G. i 

200 " tea, green 

48 " " black 

56 " " E. B. 

1,063 " sugar, granitlated 1 

3,060 " " A. i 

1922 g^ll- molasses. N. O. 



26, 400 



Equal to 72,000 rations of coffee or tea, being 
45. 600 I rations for 25 men for 96 months. 



27, 400 



Equal to 28,400 rations sugar, being rations, 
for 25 men for 39? months. 



108 " syrup. / 

269 " vinegar. 

510 lbs. candles. 

240 " soap. 

240 cakes soap (toilet) . 

48 " " " 

450 lbs. " S. W. 
1,568 " salt. 117,600 

96 bags salt, table. 

10 lbs. pepper, black. 42, 000 

75 " 



1, 000 

26, 900 Being rations for 25 men 35^ mouths. 
38, 200 
24, 400 



50-^- 
32", 



156:1 
56 



Note I. 

Party consists of— 
4 officers. 
18 enlisted men. 
3 Eskimos (estimated). 

25 total. 



Note II, summary. 



Meat ration, 


49] months. 


Flour " 


35.^ 


Beans, &c., 


43} 


Coffee and tea. 


96 


Sugar, 


37J 


Vinegar, 


35t 


Candles, 


50t«o " 


Soap, 


32 J 


Salt, 


156i 


Pepper, 


56" 



In addition to that there are extra supjjlies, which I Avill read 



Subsistence stoi'es, L. F. B. — Continued. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 



456 

100 

96 

3,024 

204 

200 

5 

24 

5 

144 

24 

24 

50 

50 

10 

100 

48 

144 

48 

1,920 

198 

5 

12 



lbs. allspice. 

cans apples (3 lbs.) 

lbs. apples (evaporated.) 

cans asparagus. 

lbs. butter. 

lbs. chocolate (Mr. Cobb's.) 

lbs. chocolate. 

lbs. cinnamon. 

cans clams (2 lbs. ) 

lbs. cloves. 

cans com, green. 

bottles ex. lemon (4 oz.j' 

bottles ex. vanilla (4 oz.) 

pkgs. gelatine (Swinburn's.) 

pkgs. gelatine (Nelson.) 

lbs. ginger. 

lbs. hops. 

cans jam, blackberry (2 lbs.) 

cans jelly, currant (2 lbs.) 

cans lobster (2 lbs. ) 

cans milk. 

lbs. mustard. 

lbs. nutmegs. 

bottles oil, olive. 



960 cans onions (2 lbs. ) 

96 cans oysters (2 lbs. ) 
144 cans peaches (3 lbs. ) 
250 lbs. peaches (evaporated.) 

48 cans pears (2 lbs.) 

98 cans pears. Am. (2 lbs. ) 

96 bottles chow chow (qts. ) 
100 galls, pickled onions. 
250 galls, pickled cucumbers. 

48 cans pineapples (2 lbs. ) 
1,248 cans potatoes (2i lbs.) 
144 cans preserved damson. 
244 lbs. jjrunes. 

66 boxes raisins. 
1,008 cans sauce, cranberry. 

12 bottles sauce, Tobin's Chili. 

12 pints sauce, Worcestershire. 
504 cans soup, asst'd. 
240 pkgs. soup, vegetable. 

40 lbs. starch, corn. 

25 lbs. tapioca. 
960 cans tomatoes. 
1,000 lbs. tobacco, plug. 
325 lbs. tobacco, smoking. 



30 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

960 cans tomatoes (3 lbs. ) 48 cans Cal. grapes. 

120 cans Lima beans (2 lbs. ) 48 cans pears. 

144 cans ex. beef (1 lb.) 72 cans squash. 

552 lbs. cheese. 48 cans okra. 

108 lbs. yeast powder. 144 cans carrots. 

24 bottles celery (4 oz.) 144 cans turnips. 

504 cans eggs, cond. 144 cans beets. 

180 lbs. tigs. 120 cans sausage. 
■192-cans gooseben-ies (2 lbs.) 24 cans peach butter. 

96 jars preserved peaches. 24 cans quince butter. 

12 boxes Tobasco pepper. 36 cans plum butter. 

18 J-bbs. sauer kraut. 24 cans currie powder. 

'008 cans rhubarb. 6 jars Canton ginger. 

48 cans quinces (3 lbs.) 12 pk'gs herbs, asst. 

48 cans shrimps. 12 bottles extracts. 

'780 lbs. lard. 6 kegs olives. 

24 cans tamarinds. 8 i-bbls. cider. 

34 bottles horse radish. 128 lbs. nuts. 

24 cans orange marmalade. 24 cans pear butter. 

50 lbs. pitted cherries. 144 lbs. dates. 

96 cans blueberries. 30 lbs. cocoanut. 

48 cans whortleberries. 100 galls, lime juice. 

24 cans white O. H. cherries. 

In addition to that^ Mr. Greely was ordered specifically in his written in- 
.structions to give the subject of native food and preparation of it his first 
and careful attention. After the fourth day he made a photograph of what 
he had gathered, and there it is [submitting a photograph to the court] — 
birds and musk oxen. 

Q. These lists of rations are from the records of the office? — A. They 
are from the records of the office. It amounts to about five years of food 
lie carried with him. 

Q. And he made caches of an inconsiderable proportion of it? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. There is a matter alluded to in the papers in relation to an engage- 
ment for the purchase of coal. Will you state anything you desire in re- 
lation to that? — A. In the first charter party, in 1881, that was introduced 
to furnish Mr. Greely with coal in case he should need it after he arrived 
there. In the other two copies that were made relating to the purchase of 
coal the same phraseology and names were introduced that were introduced 
afterwards, and it was discussed, and we concluded as Mr. Greely was the 
chief officer in that country that it would be proper for his name to remain 
there. The use of the coal was contingent upon the fact of Mr. Garling- 
ton having to remain at Littleton Island. It was not for Mr. Greely at 
all, but before the Proteus started it was found that we could buy coal 
cheaper in St. John's in sacks for this purpose than we could buy it of the 
Proteus, and it was therefore bought in that way and put upon the Pro- 
teus and carried up. But it was for Mr. Garlington and not for Mr. 
Greely. 

Q. I believe it appears in the instructions to Mr. Greely that he was 
directed to report specifically as to the character of the coal in Discovery 
Harbor. Was any such report received as to the extent of the beds ? — 
A. I think there was, and I think that he reported that there was very 
good coal there, but I do not recollect now. I have not before me his 
report. 

Q. Do you know anything of the subsequent correspondence between 
the Signal Office and the War and Navy Departments in reference to the 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 31 

inclosure that was designated as the instructions for the naval tender and 
the Proteus — the inclosure which Mr. Garlington spoke to you about as 
having been found in his envelope? — A. Nothing at all further than I 
have explained to you. 

Q. I mean subsequent to the return of the expedition ? — A. No, sir ; I 
was absent at that time. 

Q. In whose charge was your office? — A. Captain Mills. 

Q. For what time, generally? — A. Captain Mills was in charge of tlse 
office from about the middle of July, until I returned from my western 
trip about the 10th of October. 

By the Court : 

Q,. What induced originally the preparation of that memorandum? — A. 
When Congress directed that the Greely party be brought back this year, 
and before it was determined to send a tender, it seemed then to be neces- 
sary that such action be taken ; it was not written out, but it Avas discussed 
very fully in my office; then, before I returned from St. John's, where I 
had been to engage the Proteus, a memorandum was called for by the Navy 
Department covering these subjects, and some one in my office, I have never 
known who, in making a memorandum included that in it; when I re- 
turned I saw at once it Avas a matter which had been duly considered be- 
fore, and was not intended, and it is ray opinion it Avas not sent over to the 
Secretary of the Navy at all, and it only had life at all by having been 
found by Mr. Garlington in his envelope afterwards. 

Q. In your letter of October 16, 1883, transmitting to the Secretary of 
War the first report of Lieutenant Garlington, speaking in reference to this 
memorandum you state this : 

Just before starting, Lieutenant Garlington brought a copy of a memorandum that had 
been prepared for the Secretary of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions to the 
convoy which contained the original condition of first landing at Littleton Island, Sec. 

From that it Avould appear that that memorandum had been originally 
prepared in your office by somebody for the Secretary of the Navy to aid 
him in preparing instructions for the Yantic. — A. I was told when I re- 
turned that that Avas the case, and I have no doubt it was the case. But before 
it Avas sent oA^er I had considered the subject myself, and saAV that that memo- 
randum Avas not in accordance with the Greely letter, and it Avas a matter 
Avhich I had already decided not to make one of the conditions, and I im- 
mediately AA'ent myself in person and explained AAdiat I wanted, and car- 
ried, or had sent afterAvards, the orders of Lieutenant Garlington and the 
Greely letter to take the place of that memorandum. 

Q. So that this memorandum Avas prepared or talked about prior to 
any action on your part asking for a tender? — A. Prior to that. That 
was in my mind from the time of the act of Congress calling Mr. Greely 
back until the tender was arranged for ; then it passed out of my mind as 
not necessary. 

Q,. In your original instructions to Lieutenant Greely, if I remember 
them corrtecly, it is stated that he would leave his post on the 1st of 
September, 1883?— A. Not later than the 1st of September, 1883. 

Q. And as a matter of course, as no communication had been had with 
Lieutenant Greely, he expected that his suggestions to you in this letter 



32 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

would be carried out ; that is, to leave the depots provided the steamers 
that were sent- to his relief could not get up to his post? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q.. Why did you change your views in regard to that and discuss the 
idea of going contrary to the views of Lieutenant Greely by making a 
depot on Littleton Island as the vessel went up instead of carrying out 
the original intention of making it as the vessel came down ? — A. For the 
reason that it seemed to me that if everything was carried past Littleton 
Island it would place so much in one boat, and if it was lost there would 
be so much lost that it would be better to change Mr. Greely's plan that 
far. As soon as it was determined to have a tender, it then did not seem 
to me that the necessity was sufficient to deviate at all from his directions. 

Q. Because the tender, being at Littleton Island, would actually be a 
depot? — A. Would actually be a depot; yes, sir. 

Q,. When you asked for this tender of the Navy Department, what was 
your intention and what was your understanding when the tender was 
allowed as to its purpose and what you expected of it? — A. The ordinary 
purposes of a tender and such purposes as should be required and deter- 
mined after the boats were in those waters. The uses of the tender, it 
seemed to me, should suggest themselves to the commanders of those boats 
there, but it Avas in my mind of course that she should act as a ship of 
rescue for the party if there should be a wreck of the Proteus, or that she 
should be prepared to render any other aid in food or in any other way which 
her position and the circumstances should require. 

Q. In your letter asking for the tender, which was read this morning, 
you stated that you did not anticipate the tender being put into the pack- 
ice. That being the case, and with the knowledge, of course, that you had 
of the waters between St, John's and Littleton Island, did you expect that 
the tender would accompany the Proteus from the time it left St. John's 
until it got to Littleton Island ; that is, as two vessels that are supposed to 
be going together, that would be in sight of each other for most of the time, 
that may be separated for a few hours? — A. I am not sufficient of a navi- 
gator to know what she should have done. I supposed that she would 
accompany the Proteus as far as she could practically. The hard pack, as 
I understood it, and as has always been told me, stands above Littleton 
Island at all seasons — that there was no season but that a ship without enter- 
ing the hard pack could by passing up near the coast of Greenland arrive at 
Littleton Island, and it was my expectation that the Yantic could do that 
and would continue with the Proteus ^s far as she could; but in case she 
could not cut through the ice the Proteus had specific directions to go on 
and do the best she could and make the most of her trip. 

Q. Had you any absolute certainty of the Yantic getting as far as Lit- 
tleton Island ? — A. No ; I had no absolute certainty of either vessel get- 
ing there ; but I believed that the Yantic would reach Littleton Island as 
much as I believed the Proteus would reach there. 

The court then (at 3 o'clock p. m.) adjourned until 11 a, m. to-morrow. 



PEOCEEDiNGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 33 

Washington, D. C, 
Thursday, November^ 15, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder ; also Lieutenant Garlhigton, and General Hazen the witness 
under examination, who heard their testimony read over. The proceed- 
ings of the previous day were then read. 

Lieutenant Garlington refers to his answer on page 18 : 
' Q. Did you have any subsequent conversation with Commander 
Wildes with reference to it? — A. No, sir," 
And desires to add to the answer : 

"Except to change the words 'northwest' to southeast, Carey Island." 

General Hazen desired to say with reference to the statements of stores 

that it appeared they contained some errors of computation, as they were 

made in great haste, at short notice, and he thought he would be able to 

furnish revised statements by to-morrow morning, whereupon 

General William B. Hazen resumed the stand, and his examination 
was continued, as follows : 

By the Court : 

Question. Did the relief expedition of 1882 (ship Neptune, Mr. Beebe 
in charge) sail with any instructions to establish Depots A and B on the 
way north or suggestions to that effect? — Answer, It was directed to 
make those Depots A and B, not on its way up, but on its way returning, 
in case it should not get through. 

Q, Was the letter of Lieutenant Greely from Fort Conger, dated August 
17, 1881, construed by you as specifying that these depots should be es- 
tablished by the relief expedition of 1882 on its way north or only after 
failure to reach Lady Franklin Bay ? — A. It was intended that it should 
be made only in case they failed to reach him. 

Q. Were the instructions to the relief expedition of 1883 (Lieutenant 
Garlington's) essentially the same as those to the expedition of the pre- 
vious year ? — A. They were, with the difference that the expedition going 
in 1882 was for the purpose of reaching Lieutenant Greely, and failing to 
reach him, then, after making the Depots A and B, to bring its stores all back 
to St. John's. The expedition of 1883 was to reach Lieutenant Greely 
if possible and bring him away, and failing to do that establish its stores 
about liittleton Island in place of bringing them to St. John's, after mak- 
ing the two Depots A and B. 

Q. Did the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, based upon the Greely 
letter, contemplate his leaving depots of provisions, &c., at Littleton Island 
and Cape Sabine on his way north, or only after it should be ascertained 
to be impossible to get the ship through to Lady Franklin Bay? — A. Only 
after it should be determined that he could not get it through. 

Q. Were the Depots A and B, referred to in the Greely letter, actually 
established by the Beebe expedition of 1882? — A. They were. 

Q. Was any exception ever taken to the course of the expedition of 
1882 (Mr. Beebe's) in passing to the northward of Littleton Island with- 
out stopping to make a depot there? — A. None whatever, 

Q. Did you approve of Mr. Beel j s action in making the depots at 
Cape Sabine and Littleton Island on his way south instead of on his way 
S. Ex. 100 3 



34 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

north ? — A. I did, in my instructions for him to do so and in Mr.Gree- 
ly's directions also. 

Q. Mr. Beebe's expedition of 1882 seems to have construed the letter 
of Lieutenant Greely to mean that the Depots A and B should be estab- 
lished when on his way south, after failing to reach Lady Franklin Bay. 
Has this been your construction also ? — A. It has. 

Q,. And do you still so construe that letter? — A. I do. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. By way of further illustration, I will ask you if the directions to 
Lieutenant Garlington differed from those to Mr. Beebe in instructing 
him to make his depots intermediate between those made previously by Mr. 
Beebe's expedition and prior expeditions ? — A. Yes, there was th^ differ- 
ence, and there may possibly be some other minor differences that I do not 
think of. But the main diiferences are stated in my direct answer. 

By the Court : 
Q. In Lieutenant Garlington's report he says : 

I desire to call your attention to the manifest injury done me in the publication of 
certain statements immediately after the news of the disaster reached here. These 
statements, purporting to have been authorized from the Signal Office, were to the effect 
that I had been furnished with supplementary instructions prior to my departure from 
the United States, which instructions I had positively disobeyed. 

Of course we know your views in regard to that. What I desire to ask is 
whether you know anything in regard to those statements having been 
authorized from the Signal Office, or whether you know of any one who 
had given out such an idea as that supplemeutary instruction had been 
given to Lieutenant Garlington? — A. I was absent at the time in Wash- 
ington Territory, and of my own knowledge I know nothing of it. Since 
I returned I have made some inquiries about it, and it seems that some 
such intimation was given out by the officer in charge of the correspond- 
ence of my office. 

Q. What is his name ? — A. Mr. Caziarc. But as to the circumstances 
I am not prepared to state specifically. I would say for Mr. Caziarc that he 
was never charged with the work of this Arctic expedition. It was always 
in the hands of a special officer, and he was merely called in by the officer 
in charge of the work at the time, as I w^as told, to compile this little 
memorandum. That, perhaps, was the only original work he had to do in 
the whole business from first to last. 

Q. In view of your testimony on the subject, why was a defective copy 
or any copy of the memorandum sent to the Secretary of War for the Sec- 
retary of the Navy after the disaster was known ; was there any object, 
and if so, what was it? — A. I know nothing about that at all. It all oc- 
curred in my absence, and I never knew that there was any copy, correct 
or defective, sent. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You would make the same reply, of course, with reference to any 
copies sent to the Secretary of the Navy ? — A. Just the same reply. 

By the Court : 
Q. Do you not think, under the circumstances, that Lieutenant Gar- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 35 

lington ought to have been present at St. John's to superintend the load- 
ing of that steamer so as to know where all the stores would be placed 
and where he could put his hands upon them ? — A. I do not think tliat 
I was in fault in directing thera to be loaded by the sergeant. He had 
loaded the stores before. He knew all about them. He knew all about 
the method of loading them ; and although it was important that Mr. Gar- 
lington should be there to see his stores loaded, I considered it of more 
importance that he should go with the men to prevent them from desert- 
ing. Two of these very men that he had himself selected had deserted 
two days before, and the danger was that they would all desert, in which case 
we would have been in a deplorable state. I did think that after arriving 
there the sergeant in packing these stores, keeping a list of precisely where 
they were put, could and probably would inform Mr. Garlington of every- 
thing, so that there would be no difficulty of that sort at all. The ser- 
geant failed to go on and do his duty. 1 may say he was just married 
before leaving here, and I believe that acted upon his mind in his coming 
back here, and that caused all the difficulty about the stores. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. The request for the naval tender appears to have been made May 
14?— A, Yes, sir. 

Q. And Mr. Garlington and his pai'ty left New York on June 13; in 
the mean time, was any copy of the instructions for the guidance of the 
Yantic and its commander furnished the Signal Office ? — A. There never 
was. 

Q. Was any applied for ? — A. I do not recollect. 

Q. So far as the records go they do not show that any was applied for ?— 
A. None that I have seen. 

Q. In view of the failure of the expedition of 1882 and of the diffi- 
culties in obtaining suitable men from the Army and the want of nautical 
education in officers of the Army as a rule, would it not have been better 
that the work and duty of relieving Lieutenant Greely and bringing him 
back to the United States had been confided entirely to the Navy? — A. 
If the Navy had taken the work from the beginning I would say it would 
have been better ; but it having been elaborated and carried on as it was 
by the Army, I would say that the Army should have continued it. There 
was an infinite amount of detail in the work, of which a great many mat- 
ters were vital, that might not have been transferred intelligently, and I 
do not think it was a good time to have transferred thq work. 

Q. Does not that refer rather to the meteorological and special work of 
your branch than to the work which was simply to be done on on the seas, 
of going for these men and bringing them back safely ; could not that be 
better performed in all probability by the branch of the service to which 
that kind of duty naturally pertains? — A. I do not think so. They 
would naturally have taken their own ships. Their own ships are not pre- 
pared for entering the ice which is found above Littleton Island, and that 
in itself would have been one objection, and I do not think it would have 
been the best course. 

Q. But if there had been legislative permission to procure suitable ships, 
such as the Tigress and the Polaris are supposed to hav^e been, would not 
then the naval discipline and the naval ability generally, have been better 
employed ? — A. As for that I am not prepared to say. The discipline 



3G PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

would have been excellent, but the history of the last two or three expe- 
ditious under the control of the Navy would not lead me to believe that 
they would have been any more successful or that it would have been 
any better. 

Q. As I understand, your reasons for making your instructions to Mr. 
B be and to Lieutenant Garlington conform to the requests of Lieuten- 
ant Greely in reference to his rescue were in order that there should be no 
disappointment to Lieutenant Greely, and that there should be such a con- 
cert of action that he would know where they would probably meet? — A. 
The reason was that this plan was prearranged by Mr. Greely. It was 
the only possible plan that could be followed on account of his position. 
To have violated a prearranged plan of that kind, should any disaster 
come from it, there would be no excusing it. 

Q. But the ultimate reason was in order that Lieutenant Greely might 
follow the routes and visit the points where he would be most apt to meet 
assistance at the earliest possible moment? — A. That was the reason. The 
entire object was to carry out the plan which would be most likely to res- 
cue and aid Mr. Greely. 

Q. But those reasons would not have operated to prevent a more minute 
and perfect system by which additional precautions for his rescue would have 
been adopted, would they ? — A. Oh, no ; any matter of detail of that kind 
%vhich might seem to be essential was entirely within the province of t.he 
officer in charge. 

Q. Would it not have been much better if the officer of the War De- 
partment aud the officer of the Navy Department, upon whom it devolved 
to give instructions, respectively, to the Yantic and to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington, should have framed those instructions together, with a view to the 
ioint action of the Army and Navy? — A. I think it would have been. 

Q. Do you know anything special that operated to prevent such a co- 
operation ? — A. No, I do not. 

Q. What is the name of the officer to whom you alluded as having been 
specially in charge of this branch? — A. Captain Clapp, of the Infantry, 
until Lieutenant Garlington reported, and afterward Lieutenant Gar- 
lington. 

Q. That was until February, 1883?— A. Yes, sir. 

Q. He was not concerned in giving the instructions to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington, was he? — A. He framed the first rough draft of instructions. 

Q. Do you know what outfit in the way of sledges Lieutenant Garling- 
ton was provided'with ? — A. He was provided with three sledges — two or 
three, I think three — that were made under the direction of Captain Clapp 
in this city, under the advice of Engineer Melville of the Navy. They 
were made with great'care, aud seemed to embrace and to combine all the 
advantages which the experience of men in the Arctic regions, especially 
Melville, could suggest. 

By Lieutenant Garlington : 
Q. Did you ever discuss with me the propriety of changing Lieuten- 
ant Greely's instructions in so far as they related to landing stores on the 
way north to Littleton Island or in that vicinity ? — A. No, unless there 
was some expression made at the time that you brought me the memo- 
randum. I had thought when the matter was first brought to my atteu- 
tiou that I had had a conversation upon that subject, but upon further 



PROCKEDIiVGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 37 

consideration I do not know that I did farther than what I have stated 
to this conrt. 

Q. In tliat conversation did you say anything to me which would re- 
quire me or lead me to think it ray duty to adopt that memorandum as a 
suggestion from you? — A. Nothing further than the mere statement or 
the mere fact before you might suggest to yourself when you arrive there. 

Q. Had you ordered any one to furnish me with a copy of that memo- 
randum ? — A. No. 

Q. Did you know it had been furnished me until I showed it to you ? 
—A. No. 

Q. Did you know anything of the condition of the United States steam- 
ship Yantic, and as to what preparations, if any, had been made to render 
her suitable for the trip she had been sent on ? — A. I never saw the Yan- 
tic and know nothing absolutely. I was told soon after she was detailed 
that she was not a fit boat to enter the pack, and before going upon the 
expedition she would require a great deal of repairs upon her boiler and 
the sheathing to her hull. I know that something in the way of repairs 
was done, but the extent of it I do not know. 

Q,. In the telegram that I sent from New York recommending that I 
be allowed to go on the steamer Alhambra to St. John's, did I not recom- 
mend that the entire party should be allowed to go ? — A. You did. 

Q. Was I not correct in my conclusion that I was to allow the move- 
ments of the Yantic to interfere in no way with my progress to the north- 
ward ? — A. You were specially directed by me not to permit the Yantic 
to hinder your movements to the northward; if it appeared that she could 
not proceed with you, you were to go on and do the best you could without 
her. 

Q. You stated that you believed that the Yantic would reach Littleton 
Island as much as you believed the Proteus would reacli there. Is that 
exactly what you meant? — A. Yes, in general terms, though, perhaps, 
upon closer consideration, the Proteus being an ice-boat and the Yantic 
not, that far that answer should be modified. But in general terms I ex- 
pected both ships to reach there. 

Q. That was on the supposition that she would meet no ice ? — A. That 
she would meet no hard ice but what she could pass. 

Q,. That she would meet no ice but that she could force her way 
through ? — A. Yes. 

Q. Did you have any idea as to what kind of ice that would be? — A. 
Yes, I supposed that would be broken ice ; that is, ice that had moved 
out from its original place of formation and was more or less broken. I 
do not remember what it is called, but it is different from the firm pack ; 
that is, it is broken up. 

Q. The ice-pack may have been more or less broken, may it not? — 
A. Yes, the pack may be more or less broken. I should have said the 
firm ice before it was broken. 

Q,. Do you not think that I carried out the spirit of my instructions in not 
stopping at Littleton Island and leaving the greater part of my stores 
there on the way north? — A. I do. There is one statement that I would 
like to make with regard to that memorandum, and that is that I have no 
recollection of that memorandum until it was brought to me by Mr. Gar- 
lington, although I may have seen it. Some clerk may have brought it 
to me, but I have no recollection of it. 



38 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COUPT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. There is one matter about which I will ask you in reference to some- 
thing Mr. Garlington has just inquired about. Why was the request to 
go with all his men on the Alhambra refused ? — A. She being a merchant 
ship and the Yantic being a naval vessel, I supposed the facilities for the 
discipline and care of the men would be very much superior. 

By the Court : 

Q. Why was it not practicable to permit Lieutenant Garlington to go 
on the Alhambra and send the men by the Yantic, under their control ? — 
A. I did not understand that they wished to assume personal control of 
the men, being in another branch of service, and really I thought that the 
sergeant would do that work and do it properly, as he had done it once 
before. 

By the Recorder : 
Q,. I will ask you, general, in the light of the history of that expedi- 
tion, does it not appear now very clear if the materials for a depot had 
been provided and so stowed in the Proteus, and so stowed in the Yantic, 
that they could have been landed in a very little time on the way up to 
Littleton Island, or Life-Boat Cove, or some neighboring place, that it 
would undoubtedly have contributed greatly to the chances of Lieutenant 
Greely's safety? — A. Yes, I think the more of those vessels with that 
material the greater the chance. 

By the Court : 

Q. If Lieutenant Greely should be on his way now from Discovery 
Harbor do you think that he would find supplies sufficient on his route 
on the west shore of Smith's Sound in order to support his party com- 
fortably until he gets to Cape Sabine ? — A. Yes ; I do. 

Q. Sufficient to keep him in comfort all winter in case he should be 
detained there? — A. I think so, with the native food which he can se- 
cure. 

Q. How much of the provisions on his start can he probably take with 
him ? — A. That depends upon whether he starts with boats, with dogs, 
or with men only. If he should start with boats, I should say he could 
take three months' supplies ; if he should start with dogs, he could not 
take more than two months' supplies ; if he should start with men, he 
could take a very much less amount, depending upon their health and 
strength. 

Q. But sufficient, with ordinary progress, to be supplied by the depots 
that are made on the coast ? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q,. In your knowledge of Lieutenant Greely you rely greatly upon his 
discretion ? — A. Very greatly. Mr. Greely is an extraordinary man in 
regard to his characteristics, his hardihood and manliness especially. 

Q. He would not be likely then to cut loose from all possibility of re- 
turn until he was sure that something equally good was before him ? — A. 
I could not say that. He would start with a pretty fair assurance of main- 
taining himself, but he could not leave his own stores without taking some 
risks at any time. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTKUS COURT OF INQUIRY 3^ 

By the Court : 

Q. Do you know how far it is from Discovery Harbor to Cape Sabine 
by the ordinary route along the shore? — A. It must be one hundred and 
sixty or one hundred and seventy miles. 

Q. Could you give us from your office a statement of the distance that 
would have to be traveled by Lieutenant Greely from Discovery Harbor 
to Cape Sabine, giving in detail the different points at which stores have 
been placed, the distance in miles between these different points and the 
quantity in each ? — A. Yes, sir. [Referring to a small map.] I have 
here the caches and the amount of stores, but the computations of distances 
are not here. I will, however, produce this information in full to-morrow 
morning. 

First Lieut. Louis V. Caziaec, Second Artillery, sworn and examined, 
as follows : 

By the Recorder : 

Question. On what duty are you ? — Answer. I am now on signal duty, in 
charge of the division of correspondence and records in the Signal Office 
at Washington. 

Q. How long have you been on that duty ? — A. Since May, 1881. My 
duties correspond by orders to those of an adjutant-general as far as the 
centralized work of the office permits. 

Q. I will ask you to state, in the form of a narrative, as concisely as 
you can, your personal knowledge of the'expedition in 1883 for the relief 
of Lieutenant Greely. — A. Preparations for this expedition were begun 
in the fall of 1882, soon after the return of Mr. Beebe with the expedition 
of that year. The result of applications to the Adjutant-General, and 
through him to the commanding general of the Department of Dakota, 
was the selection of Lieutenant Garliugton and of some enlisted itien from 
that department to be added to those of the men who had been up with the 
expedition of the prior year, and the personnel of the force was made up 
in that way, with the exception of the addition of the sealers who 
were to be hired and of the Eskimo who were to be obtained on the 
coast of Greenland. The supervision of Arctic matters at the commence- 
ment of this, was under the charge of an officer specially detailed for that 
work, and in charge of fhe division of the office known as the Division of 
Arctic Observation and Research (Paragraph 367, office regulations). Cap- 
tain Clapp, of the Sixteenth Infantry, was in charge of this division, and 
continued so until the latter part of February, 1883, at which date he was 
directed to turn over to Lieutenant Garlington, who had then reported to 
the office, the charge of so much of his work as related to the outfit of the 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, and to make a report to the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer of the fact of that transfer, which he did. He remained, how- 
ever, as an advisory officer to the Chief Signal Officer on account of his 
familiarity with the work of these expeditions in former years, and con- 
tinued to give him advice, although after this time Lieutenant Garlington 
may be understood to have been in charge of his own division, so far as 
the orders are concerned that came within my knowledge. 

Q. What do you know, if anything, with respect to the instructions to 



40 PROCEEDINGS OF I'EOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Lieutenant Garlington and their preparation in the Signal Office ? — A. 
The instructions were begun, I think, in the latter part of April, and con- 
sisted, first, of a rough draft prepared by Captain Clapp, he having been 
called upon by the general to submit a project of instructions. Those in- 
structions were referred to all of the officers in charge of divisions for sug- 
gestions by an indorsement of the 16th of May, 1883, the officers being 
directed to make marginal notes of corrections, which, in their opinion, were 
necessary. This is the original draft which I have in my hand. [Exhibit- 
ing same.] General Hazen left for St. John's on the 1 8th of May to arrange 
for the charter of the steamer to be employed for the expedition. This refer- 
ence was on the 16th of May. In the mean time Captain Powell, of the Six- 
teenth Infantry ,was assigned to duty as Acting Chief Signal Officer, and the 
reports of the various officers were submitted to him. By him a new copy was 
made on a type-writer and held to await the return of the general. The gen- 
eral came back on the 4th day of June. The instructions were then submit- 
ted to him, amended by him, and issued on the same day, June 4. But I 
think they were not delivered to Lieutenant Garlington until the 5th, on 
the night of which day Lieutenant Garlington proceeded, according to my 
recollection, to New York City to look after sending Sergeant Wall to St. 
John's to oversee the loading of the stores. Sergeant Wall sailing from 
New York by the Alhambra on the 7th day of June. The preparation 
of these orders was, therefore, mainly between Captain PoMell, as Acting 
Chief Signal Officer and General Hazen, my own part in it being less 
than usual for the reason that it was incidental to the transfer of unfin- 
ished work of the Chief Signal pfficer which had arisen during the ab- 
sence of General Hazen from May 18 to June 4. As natural, I was not^ 
present at all of the interviews taking place between these two officers in 
the preparation of the copy which was finally sent to me for issue. As to 
the memorandum the case is different. 

Q. Tli^ memorandum spoken of as an inclosure? — A. Yes, sir. On the 
2d day oi June, about the close of office hours. Captain Powell sent for 
me and directed me to prepare for the Secretary of the Navy, in readiness 
for him on the opening of business on Monday, a memorandum requiring 
joint co-operation between the Proteus and the Yantic, the Yantic having 
been designated by the Secretary of the Navy for the purposes of this ex- 
pedition on the request Avhich had been made, I tliink, on the 14th of 
May previously. In accordance with that I did on Sunday, the 3d day 
of June, come to the office, and after studying over the case as I was able 
I drew the memorandum in question, M^hich on the morning of June 4, I 
gave to Captain Powell, to be used by him for the purpose for which he 
had asked it to be prepared. This is the first draft of that memorandum. 
[Exhibiting a paper.] I might go on to say that these instructions were 
prepared in my division and submitted with all the inclosures to General 
Hazen himself, signed by him, and delivered by me to .the officer ad- 
dressed. 

Q. Suppose you read the first draft to the court ? — A. [Reading.] 

The naval tender to join the Proteus at St. John's, N. F., to proceed with her to 
the neighborhood of Littleton Island. 

The Proteus to land her stores except supplies for more northerly depots at Littleton 
Island on her way north. If she succeeds in reaching Lady Franklin Bay to pick up the 
stores, if possible, on her return. 

The naval tender will await the return of the Proteus in the neighborhood of Little- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 41 

ton Island, and on her return steam to the south in her company — as far as consistent 
with her own safety — until she reaches the southern limits of the ice-pack, when they 
may separate. 
, Should the Proteus be crushed in the ice her crew will retire on Littleton Island, and 
the tender will bring to St. John's, Newfoundland, the officers and crew of the Proteus, 
the rest of the party to remain at Littleton Island. But should the ice render it dan- 
gerous for the tender to remain in the neighborhood of Littleton Island until the Proteu 
returns, or her crew, and the expeditionary force succeeds in reaching there, the tender 
may go to the south, leaving full particulars at Littleton Island. If the Proteus should 
be crushed, and it should be impossible for the tender to await the return of the crew, 
they will have to remain through the next winter at Littleton Island. 

Signals by flags, heliographs, and guns should be preconcerted, and communication by 
this means should be maintained between the two vessels as long as possible after they 
are separated by the passage north of the Proteus. 

Nothing in the northw^ard movement must be allowed to retard the progress of the 
Proteus. It is of the utmost importance that she take advantage of every lead, to get 
up to Lady Franklin Bay. 

Q. What did you do with that memorandum ? — A. I gave this to Cap- 
tain Powell for the purpose named. I wrote this on Sunday, but Captain 
Powell was not at the office at the time I wrote it. It was copied by the 
clerks and handed to him in the very opening hours on Monday. The 
ideas in the memorandum originated in the study of the orders that had 
been already prepared. I had before me all the orders as they were then 
drafted, and after consideration of the whole subject I prepared, by way oi 
advice, this instruction as what I thought the best scheme the office could 
give to the Secretary of the Navy for co-operation between these tw^o ves- 
sels, to be accepted or rejected as the Chief Signal Officer or the Acting 
Chief Signal Officer should see fit, of course. 

Q. Proceed "with the history of the memorandum. You say you gave it 
in that form to Captain Powell on June 4? — A. I gave it to him on 
June 4. Captain Powell never returned the memorandum to me, but he 
told me he had turned it over to the Chief Signal Officer. 

Q. Did you ever see it again? — A. I never saw it again. 

Q. Did you ever see a memorandum similar in tenor to that again? — 
A. A copy of this memorandum was put with the instructions of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington ; that is, it was in the same envelope. It was among 
the inclosures handed to the general at that time. All the papers were 
handed to him for his scrutiny at the time when he -signed the original 
instructions. 

Q,. By whom was it placed in that packet ? — A. By me. 

Q. In the form in which it appears in this certified copy, which is in 
evidence, being page 33 of Signal Service Notes, No. 10, as certified ? — - 
A. Certainly. 

By the Court : 

Q. You do not know, then, whether the general actually saw that memo- 
randum before the instructions were handed to Lieutenant Garlington. 
You only know that they were in the envelope ? — A. I do not know 
whether he saw them with the instructions. They were left with him to- 
examine. 

Q. You do not know whether he saw them at all? — A. I do not think 
they were in an envelope, but put together with a band for the general's 
scrutiny. They were left with him and he looked them over and sent them 
out. 



42 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Eecorder : 

Q. By whom were the alterations made that appear by comparison in 
this certified copy with your rough notes? — A. I really do not know. I 
did not know that there were any. 

Q. Did you see this memorandum again ? 

The Witness. The one that was inclosed to Lieutenant Garlingtou? 

The Recorder. Yes; when did you next see it, if at all? — A. On the 
return of" Lieutenant Garlingtou — subsequent to his return ; that is, the 
particular copy which was put in the instructions. 

By the Court : 
Q. It was the copy that you handed to the general ? — A. Yes; the copy 
that I handed to him with the instructions. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Was any record kept of it in the office during Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's absence ; and, if so, what ? — A. I have already stated to the court that 
these instructions were submitted to the general on his return, on the morn- 
'ing of June 4, and I mean now all the instructions — ^the letters to Lieu- 
tenant Greely, to Lieutenant Garlingtou, the memoranda regarding the 
scientific outfit, the memorandum of stores, the copy of the charter party, 
and the copy of this memorandum in question — and that they were written 
and hektographed — some written, some hektographed — during that day, 
and practically completed on that day, although I do not think they were 
fully completed until the following day. I am not so certain about their 
delivery. This, of course, involved a great deal of very rapid worl^, and 
the "roughs" were completed by the clerks in the ordinary course of cleri- 
cal duty to make a perfect copy for entry, as we supposed, according to the 
usual standing orders. The record books were made up from the rough 
copy completed for record — the copies I have here — and I found by 
scrutiny on the return of Mr. Garlingtou, and when this paper was 
first submitted, that there was a discrepancy in the record copy in the 
permanent books of the office, due to a failure to correct these "roughs" to 
correspond with the copy delivered — a clerical mistake. Sergeant Beale, 
now a lieutenant in the Signal Corps, who was at that time my chief 
clerk, made these errors. He sent off, with the original instructions, to 
Lieutenant Garlingtou as Inclosure 4, a copy of the charter party, of 
which, however, he made no record ; but it is marked in his handwriting 
"" Inclosure 4." He sent to be copied for record, as Inclosure 4, the memo- 
randum in question, marking it also in his handwriting "Inclosure 4." 
This probably having been done at a time subsequent from the prepara- 
tion of these orders and when in a great hurry. So that there is no actual 
record in our office of the charter party being delivered to Lieutenant 
Garlingtou, but in place of it this memorandum in question as Inclosure 
4. Otherwise there is no substantial difference between the orders, as I 
remember at this moment, as recorded in the books of the office and the 
original copy delivered to Lieutenant Garlingtou. 

Q. You say he marked the charter party as Inclosure 4. Do you mean 
the copy of the charter party in the office record, or do you mean the origi- 
nal? — A. No, I think that furnished to Lieutenant Garlingtou with his 
instructions. 

Q. And on the retained copy A. [Interrupting.] The charter 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 43 

party is omitted and this memorandum is Inclosure 4 ; that is, in the per- 
manent record books of the office. 

Q. Is it your recollection that the charter party was inclosed? — A. I 
have no recollection about it really. It must have been put in in a great 
hurry at the last moment. 

By the Couet : 

Q. Do I understand you to say that the getting up of this memorandum, 
you have read to the court, was of your own motion without any instruc- 
tions from higher authority? — A. No, sir; I was ordered by Captain 
Powell to prepare a memorandum. 

Q. Embodying the views that are in that memorandum? — A. No, sir; 
no outline of any views was given to me on the subject. 

Q. Therefore that memorandum merely embodied your own views? — 
A. Merely embodied my own views, for adoption or rejection as the Chief 
Signal Officer should see fit. 

Q. What induced you to adopt views that were so contrary to the 
views of liieuteuant Greely, as given in his letter sent from Discovery 
Harbor ? — A. I did not think they were contrary in any essential 
feature. 

Q, Lieutenant Greely in his directions desires that the relief steamer shall 
go as far north as Discovery Harbor, and if it cannot get there on account 
of the ice shall make its depot of supplies as it comes back, while yours re- 
quires the depot of supplies to be made as the steamer went north ? — A. 
Yes. But Mr. Greely's letter was written in the belief tha!t the station at 
Camp Conger .would be maintained for a series of years if he could be 
reached, and in the preceding year, in laying out his scheme for the expe- 
dition that was sent up under the conduct of Mr. Beebe, the object was 
to put in another year's supplies to replace the year's supplies con- 
sumed, and to replace such officers and men of the party as had by 
disease or other causes shown themselves unfitted for further service in 
that climate. Failing to do that, and establishing depots which would 
be useful in the scheme of the next year, the vessel was to come 
back; now, for the second year, though he only made a provision for 
the single year's supplies, although two would have been wasted, 
his project was to have the vessel go up there and continue the work ; the 
plan of the international agreement upon this subject contemplated the 
taking of an unbroken series of three years' observations, which it was 
hoped originally could begin in August, 1881; but several of the States' 
were so slow in putting in their stations, from various causes, that it was 
postponed, and the series was to begin in August, 1882 ; therefore, in order 
to procure, for comparison, observations at all these stations, around the 
Polar belt, for a series of three unbroken years, we should have had to have 
continued observations from August, 1882, to August, 1885. 

Q. But in the original instructions to Lieutenant Greely, when he went 
up there it was stated that he should leave there on the 1st of September, 
1883 ? — A. Yes, if he was not reached, that he should leave there not 
later than September 1, 1883. Mr. Greely seems to have hoped to get a 
vessel up in 1882, when he would have received an additional year's sup- 
plies and sent some of his men back. He hoped to have continued the sta- 
tion there after 1883, for correspondence will be found sent back at the same 
time this recommendation was made, in which he asked his officers to volun- 



44 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

teer so that he could in the next year determine whether they would stay 
beyond the period for which they originally went up, Avhich was three 
years, and their replies are inclosed with that correspondence. So that 
he had no idea of breaking up the station. Now, the law of Congress 
under which tliis last expedition was sent, changed all those conditions. 
It commanded that the expedition should be recalled, and I did not there- 
fore in drawing that memorandum, as I explained to Captain Powell at 
the time, regard it as essential that the stores should go north of Lit- 
tleton Island and be exposed to the hazard of destruction in the heavier 
ice, but that, as a prudent measure, a base should be established at the 
most northern point which most of the authorities agreed could be reached 
without extreme hazard, and that they should not l^e taken beyond that 
point, and it was in that view solely that I submitted the question to my 
chief. 

Q. Did you know what influenced the rejection of the views embodied 
in that memorandum, by the Chief Signal Officer? — A. No, sir; I do not 
know. I never have known. I talked over the matter with Captain 
Powell quite frankly, and left him to turn the matter over to the Chief 
Signal Officer as a part of his unfinished business, not so much pertaining 
to my desk as to the business of the Chief's office. He was familiar with 
the conversations with the Secretary of the Navy, and I did not regard it as 
work pertaining to my own desk, but rather to the desk of the Chief. 

Q. A copy of that memorandum was not submitted to the Secretary of 
the Navy ? — A. Not within my personal knowledge ; no, sir. 

By the Recordiir : 

Q. [Submitting to witness the original instructions to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington identified by him.] Do you recognize these as the original instruc- 
tions ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. In whose handwriting is that paper ? — A. It is in the handwriting 
of one of the clerks of my division. It was prepared in my division. I 
think perhaps I ought to say to the court in connection with this matter 
that I followed up this memorandum, the copy which I delivered to Cap- 
tain Powell, for some days ; that I certainly understood General Hazen 
that it had been delivered to the Secretary of the Navy and that the plan 
had been or would be drawn in conformity with that memorandum. I 
ought to say that I never was led to believe for a moment that it was not 
to be adopted. On the day that it was drawn — on Sunday — Mr. Garling- 
ton came into my office as I was finishing it and it was submitted to him, 
I understood him to approve it, and I was not undeceived myself in that 
belief until the receipt of his dispatch, I think of September 14 or 15, in 
answer to the inquiry why he did not land stores at Littleton Island. 
That contained the first information I ever had that he did notapproveit, 
and was as great a surprise to me as anything that ever happened. 

By the Court : 
Q. Just there you may give some information as to how the re])ort got 
abroad in the public prints. — A. It got abroad through me, sir. The 
reporters had pressed us for copies of these instructions. The principal 
letter to Lieutenant Greely, which I have just identified, was hektographed 
in all the numbers which the hektograph would print originally and was 
given to the press at that time, and when the press asked us for copies of 
Mr. Garlington's instructioTis we gave them those. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 45 

Q. You mean before Lieutenant Garlington went off? — A. Before he 
went off. On the receipt of the news of the disaster, on September 13, 
the press asked us for copies of his instructions and at first we gave them 
only that hektograph letter, but subsequently, I do not know how it came 
about, some members of the press came and asked if no provision was made 
for landing stores. I answered rather quickly and without the care that 
I should have exercised in view of the great importance of the subject to 
Mr. Garlington, that there were such instructions sent, and turned to the 
clerk and told him to get me a copy of them, and he brought it to me and 
without particular scrutiny it was delivered to the press. We did not dis- 
cover the error until after we had received Mr. Garlington's telegram in 
reply to that in which he was asked, "why did you not land stores at 
Littleton Island." It was assumed in sending that telegram that, Mr. Gar- 
lington being in sympathy with the office, we would immediately get a 
reply that would satisfy the office and the country, and it was with great 
astonishment that we got this reply that it was not in his programme, and 
that it was following Lieutenant Greely's orders, &c. Nor did I ever 
know that Lieutenant Garlington had presented this memorandum to Gen- 
eral Hazen before his departure, nor any of the conversation that took plac« 
between General Hazen and Lieutenant Garlington in that respect. It 
never was reported to me by either Lieutenant Garlington or General Hazen, 
and no reference was ever made to it until this subject came up after Mr. 
Garlington's return. 

By the Court : 

Q. So that you knew nothing of the fate of that memorandum after 
you presented it to General Hazen with the instructions to Lieutenant 
Garlington ? — A. Except that I rested in the belief that it had been ac- 
cepted and that it had gone to the Secretary of the Navy. General Hazen 
may not have scrutinized all the inclosures of that letter. 

Q. Were you confirmed in that belief by the error upon your perma- 
nent records which speaks of that memorandum as Inclosure 4 ? — A. I 
was confirmed in that belief; yes, sir. But being asked for the informa- 
tion for the Secretary of War by Captain Mills, then Acting Chief Signal 
Officer, on the 15th of September, two days after receipt of news of the 
disaster, to give my opinion as to the bearing of this memorandum upon 
Lieutenant Greely's instructions, I took the subject up afresh, but looked 
upon it fairly as a matter of orders or no orders, and then gave the opinion 
which I have since held, that it was not an order and could not be so con- 
strued ; that following the law of contracts as applying to such cases an 
inclosure not mentioned in the contract itself forms no part of it", so an in- 
closure not mentioned in the letter of instructions itself ought not to be 
considered an order mandatory upon an officer or an order at all. I gave 
that opinion and I have not relinquished it in any respect or seen any reason 
to change it. 

By the Recordee : 
Q. [Submitting to witness a paper identified by Lieutenant Garlington.] 
That is the copy of this memorandum that went with Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's instructions? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Court : 
Q. Do you know whether there were copies of instructions to Lieuten- 



46 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

ant Garlington sent to the Secretary of the Navy before the Lieutenant's 
departure? — A. I never heard of any, and they are not recorded in my office. 
There is a record on the 6th day of June that General Hazen took to the 
Secretary of War instructions without inclosures. 

Q. I am speaking of the Secretary of the Navy ? — A. There is no record, 
sir, 

Q. You do not know anything about it if there is ? — A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. [Showing same.] That is the original of the paper in question that 
you call the memorandum ? — A. Yes, sir. I found in my record books, 
as the basis of that opinion of September 15, that there was nowhere in the 
text of the original letter any reference to Inclosure 4, and I therefore 
thought that it was not a part of the order. 

Q. In whose handwriting is this paper ? — A. It is in the handwriting 
of one of the clerks in my division. 

Q. And you have no knowledge of how it came into this form from your 
original notes? — A. No, no particular knowledge without searching it out; 
but I do not know how it came into that form now. September 13 and 
14, the first two days after the news of this disaster, we devoted ourselves 
exclusively to the consideration of the situation of Mr. Greely. We did 
not take up any other question than that. The time was spent mainly 
upon maps, and in consideration of the subject of supplies, and the possi- 
bility of getting an expedition off to him during the autumn, and we were 
less particular about this until after we received Mr. Garlingtoi^s long 
dispatch in answer to the one wherein the Secretaries of War and the Navy 
''concur in asking yourself and Captain Wildes to answer jointly or sepa- 
rately," &c., &c. 

Q. After the return of Lieutenant Garlington to St. John's there was a 
request from the Secretary of the Navy to furnish him a copy of Lieuten- 
ant Garlington's instructions, was there not? — A. A verbal request. 

Q. Was a copy furnished him? — A. I do not know how completely; 
it did not quite come in that form. During the first two or three days after 
the dispatch of September 13, possibly the 15th or 16th, Mr. Chandler was 
away, and Commodore English, I think, was Acting Secretary of the Navy ; 
the papers were freely carried back and forth from our office; such papets 
as any particular inquiry rendered necessary, either in the form of roughs 
or of complete copies, or rough copies, to save carrying the large record 
books of the office to and fro, as is constantly the case, and after the return 
of Secretary Chandler, when he took up the examination of the whole sub- 
ject, those papers again went back and forth ; sometimes they would be in 
our office and sometimes in the Navy Department ; but on the conclusion 
being reached by the Secretaries that nothing further could be done, or 
some time after that, the Secretary of the Navy asked that he should have 
the papers that had been used in the course of those conferences, and then 
they were made up, and transmitted to him with such completeness, as 
Captain Mills thought necessary, to give him the data which had been used 
during the conferences; that is the story of those papers. 

By the Court : 
Q. Of that last batch ?— A. Yes, sir. 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 47 

By the Recorder : 
Q. I will read from a letter of the Secretary of War, in evidence, and 
will ask you for any explanation which you may wish to make in refer- 
ence thereto : 

I consider it necessary to inquire into tire history of this memorandum. It appeared 
as a loose paper inclosed with your letter of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, dated 
June 4, 1883, but it is not mentioned in that letter. I am advised by the Secretary of 
the Navy that while he was preparing his orders for the Yantic you furnished his De- 
partment with a supposed copy of that letter, which, in like manner, did not mention 
the memorandum and did not inclose it. This copy, as did the original, covered four 
mentioned inclosures, but only one of them seems to have been like its original. The 
three other inclosures as now seen differ entirely from those with the original letter and 
do not, of eourse, meet their own description as found in the body of the supposed copy 
of the original letter. 

After the telegraphic reports of the disaster were received I, upon the request of the 
Secretary of the Navy, directed the Acting Chief Signal Officer in your absence to pre- 
pare for and furnish to the Secretary of the Navy a copy of your instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington. This last, as furnished, contains only three inclosures, four being 
mentioned in the body of the letter One of them was substantially like one of the in- 
closures with the original letter ; another was substantially like one of those with th& 
first copy above mentioned, and the third was marked ' ' Inclosure 4 ' ' (an Inclosure 4 
being noted in the letter), and is a copy of the "memorandum" in question. These 
latter papers were, of course, supposed by the Secretary of the Navy and myself to be, 
as stated, an authentic copy of your instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, and we, in. 
our conferences, formed an opinion as to his having disobeyed an order which it now 
appears he did not in fact receive as an order. 

Will you please explain, especially the reference to this last letter (copy 
of the instructions upon which it is here stated there was marked " Inclo- 
sure 4," corresponding with the memorandum) ? — A. The discrepancies as 
to the inclosures grew out of just what I have related, the method of hand- 
ling these papers back and forth from one department to the other. We 
did not pretend to give the Secretary, for instance, a list of the outfit of that 
expedition, and I do not think we gave him a list of the stores cached at 
St. John's. They were not regarded as material. In place of that Captain 
Mills would take to him, for instance. Signal Notes No. 5 — something of 
that sort. So that there was no real attempt made to furnish a complete 
copy of all distinct papers. But the mistake in regard to Inclosure 4 
having occurred in the body of the letter is easily explained. In con- 
nection with what I have said about my being convinced that the memo- 
randum ought not to be considered a part of the orders, it became inter- 
esting to see if it bore any relation whatever to the letter of instructions, 
and, if so, what. On an examination of that letter we found in the last 
clause a communication simply like this : " The United States ship Yan- 
tic will accompany you as far as, &c., and you Mall arrange between her 
captain and yourself, when on the spot, a plan of co-operation." Now, it 
was thought if that inclosure could have been put in there at all, if it 
bore any reference to any part of those instructions, the remotest what- 
ever, independently of its being an order, it must be to that clause, and 
on one of these copies that Captain Mills had taken over I had written 
in pencil in the margin, " Inclosure 4," to remind him to speak of that 
connection if it came up, and in copying that the clerk must have trans- 
posed it and put it out at the end of the line, because I never saw the 
copy until after the receipt of the Secretary's letter, and I went to see the 
Secretary of the Navy and saw for the first time the copy. It is clearly 
an error. 



48 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Court : 

Q. In making copies of papers upon any subject, what is your custom 
in the Signal Office ; do you compare the copy with the original ou your 
books before it is sent, or do you trust to the copy of the clerk being ac- 
curate? — A. We generally compare everything, but even those compari- 
sons are found defective, as appears in that memorandum. There is a 
persona] equation of the value of the man who compares. I ought to say 
in reference to that, that there is one defect in keeping the records with our 
present clerical force. While we take care in comparing a communication 
with the original, we are not so careful in putting it into the record books, 
from lack of clerical force. 

Q. Do you not take press copies of all your communications ? — A. We 
•do as far as possible, and generally do, but when we get a hektograph 
letter in this shape we cannot do that. When we hektograph, the press 
is out of the question; then we keep tiie hektograph copy. If any alter- 
ations are made we trust to comparing it with that, but in entering it into 
the permanent books no comparison is made, but we trust entirely to the 
accuracy of the copyist. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. When did I understand you to say you discovered the mistake in 
taking the record by which this memorandum was substituted for the 
charter party and marked Inclosure 4? — A. I did not discover that until 
Mr. Garlington returned to Washington. He then told me he had an In- 
closure 4, which was so numbered, and which was an entirely different 
paper. 

Q. About what time was that? — A. It must have been early in Octo- 
ber. 

Q,. It was subsequent, then, to your furnishing the Secretary of War for 
the use of the Secretary of the Navy a copy of all the papers ? — A. Yes, 
sir ; and we never have made any attempt to correct that record in our 
books because we preferred to have it stand with its original defects, 

Q. Then this copy furnished by the Secretary of War to the Secretary 
of the Navy was in accordance with that record? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Except that Inclosure No. 4 was marked on the bottom of the letter 
of instructions ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And that, you say, was put on merely as a memorandum in lead 
pencil ? — A. It was so put on the original for the Secretary of the Navy, 
and must have been copied from that on to another hektograph copy. It 
is in the handwriting of a clerk who is not a very good writer, and who 
put it in at the end of line instead of on the margin. 

Q. Put on in ink? — A. Put on in ink; written out at length, "Inclos- 
nre 4." 

Q,. And the memorandum correspondingly marked ''Inclosure 4?" — 
A. No, I think not; but it is misleading, since it is such an important 
element in the consideration of the value of the paper when mentioned in 
connection with the clause of the letter as inclosed. 

Q. There is a tabulated statement furnished the court; perhaps your 
testimony has covered the matter, but I would like to refer to it ; you 
have seen this tabular statement, I presume [indicating same, already read 
as evidence]? — A. Yes, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 49 

Q. Please look at this table of discrepancies accompanying the letter 
of the Secretary of War to the Chief Signal Officer of October 31, 1882, 
in evidence, and see if you have any further explanation to make in refer- 
ence to it ? — A. I think what I have just said covers everything. It ap- 
pears from the column headed, " papers given to the Secretary of the JSTavy 
before the departure of the expedition," that the Memoranda A, B, 0, D^ 
and E — that is, the instructions for observation — were not sent him. The 
list of stores at St. John's or cached was not sent him, nor the charter of 
the Proteus, nor the memorandum of supplementary instructions. Now, 
I have before testified that I do not know anything about these copies 
that went to the Secretary of the Navy. We have no record of them at 
all. Then as to the Secretary of the Navy after the disaster. The Mem- 
oranda A, B, C, D, and E were not sent in, nor the list of stores at St. 
John's or cached, nor the charter of the steamship Proteus, and in place 
of the memorandum an imperfect copy was delivered — that imperfection 
mainly relating to the clerical error in making it in the letter as " Inclos- 
ure 4," and not having it marked upon the outside as " Inclosure 4." The 
record books of the office would justify the latter, but not the former 
mark. It does not appear either that the Secretary was furnished after 
the disaster with a copy of the letter of the Chief Signal Officer to Lieu- 
tenant Greely of June 4, 1883, nor a copy of the track chart of the. steamer 
in the expedition of 1882. This is a large chart of that which is pub- 
lished in the Signal Service Notes, which appears, by the preceding line, was 
furnished. Those appear to be the principal discrepancies as I see them. 

Q. Now, in regard to this imperfect copy of the memorandum of sup- 
plementary instructions, pinned to a copy of the letter and marked In- 
closure 4, in red ink, note on page 8, Inclosure 4? — A. That is on page 8 
of the copy of Lieutenant Garlington's papers ? 

Q. Have you said all that is necessary to explain that ? — A. Yes, I 
think so. 

Q. What is this printed pamphlet Signal Service Notes No. 5 ? — A. It 
is the notes of work of the Signal Service in the Arctic regions. 

Q. I know ; but what does it refer to here ? — A. It contained Mr. 
Beebe's report and the chart of the steamer of the preceding year. I think 
it is quite possible tliat there is an error in the assumption that the copy 
having Inclosure 4 Avritten on it is the same copy that the Secretaries 
had at the time of their conferences. Those conferences took place soon 
after September 16th, and in passing those papers back and forth and 
changing them frequently, there may have been a change or there may 
not ; I do not know, because I never took them myself. I have no per- 
sonal knowledge of it. 

Q. AVho took them? — A. Captain Mills took them. 

By the Court : 
Q. But they were prepared in your office ? — A. They were prepared in 
my office. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Did you have any conversation with Lieutenant Garlington when 
he returned in reference to that memorandum ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Please state what took place. — A. Lieutenant Garlington felt that 
a great injustice had been done him in the publication of it as a part of his 
orders, and informed me that he had never received it except as a loose: 
S. Ex. 100 4 



.50 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

paper; he told me also of his conversation with General Hazen, as referred 
to by both of those officers in reports made recently to the Secretary of 
War, and substantially in the terms reported by him in his original re- 
port ; he also told me that the Inclosure 4 which came to him was a copy 
of the charter of the Proteus, and that it was marked Inclosure 4, and I 
•>can only account for that as an error on my own books at a later date. 

Q. That was not referred to in the body of the letter either ? — A. No, 
.sir. Of course it is not usual to mark any inclosures not referred to in the 
toody of the letter until marked by the receiver. 

By Lieutenant Gaelington : 

Q. Why did you suppose that I approved of that memorandum you 
first prepared ? did I ever tell you that I approved of it? — A. I under- 
stood Lieutenant Garlington to approve that memorandum at the time it 
was written. 

Q. Please state in what terms I approved it. — A. Mr. Garlington read 
it three or four times over, and there was a conversation between us on 
several points. One was the delay which would occur through landing 
i:he stores at Littleton island, and in order to counteract that the last clause 
•of that memorandum was put in as a saving clause. That clause reads 
substantially that nothing will be allowed to delay the Proteus in making 
her way north ; that she must take advantage of every lead of ice. That 
left a considerable discretion. There was also something said about the 
ieasibility of dividing the stores between the two vessels. But I was left 
then with the impression, which I continued to hold from the time of the 
preparation of that paper until the receipt of Lieutenant Garlington's dis- 
patch, that he was in favor of that scheme. If he had not been, I certainly 
should not have made that memorandum. It would certainly have led 
-to a change of the memorandum. 

Q. Did I ever state to you in terms that I approved that memorandum 
as you wrote it and as I first saw it ? 

The Witness. As it was written in the interview of that Sunday ? 

Lieutenant Garlington. Whenever it was written ? 

A. To say positively that in express terms Mr. Garlington gave me his 
approval of it would be saying a good deal. But he conveyed that im- 
pression ; I derived that impression from our interview. 

Q,. Did you up to this time have anything to do with Arctic mat- 
ters — the preparation of instructions? 

The Witness. In this particular year ? 

-Lieutenant Garlington. Yes. 

A. Very little. 

Q. Did you have anything to do with any instructions relating to me 
^except in the preparation of the order directing Captain Clapp to turn 
over certain portions of that duty to me ? — A. No, I think not. 

Q. Were not the instructions prepared by Captain Clapp and referred, 
as you have stated, to the different heads of bureaus, referred to you as well 
as the other officers ? — A. They were not. I can tell more positively by 
looking at the memorandum. My impression is they were not. [Alter 
referring to a paper.] They were not. Nor was I on duty strictly in the 
office at this time. I had been assigned to the preparation of these office 
regulations and my desk for from some time prior to May 18, until I re- 
turned to it on the general's going away on that duty, had been in charge 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 51 

of Lieutenant Powell or Lieutenant Allen, and I had been on special duty 
at niy own house in the preparation of this book (referring to a Signal 
Service M^ork). 

Q. You knew of such reference ? — A. Yes ; I knew of it. 

Q. Did you ever make any official suggestions as to any changes in 
those original instructions ? — A. I certainly did not in any material man- 
ner, if I did at all ; that is, in the instructions proper, independently of 
the Memoranda A, B, C, D, and E, because I did on those. 

Q. What had my landing stores at Littleton Island on the way up to 
do with the instruction to be given to the naval tender which was to ac- 
company me ? — A. I should think it a matter of great importance. 

Q. Was it not a matter of much greater importance that the sugges- 
tion should be made with reference to a change in my instructions proper ? — 
A. I do not quite understand the question. 

Q. If my instructions were to be changed, was it not much better and 
more in accordance with a systematic manner of conducting business to 
have made these changes in the instructions before they were delivered to 
me ? — A. There is no question that they should have been embodied in 
the instructions if at alb The memorandum was a most unsatisfactory 
shape in which to put them, and I have said so much on that subject, that 
I did not consider them orders at all ; that I did not quite understand the 
question. I have never since the 15th day of September considered those 
as orders, and I thought I had expressed myself so clearly on that point 
that I could not be mistaken. 

Q. Did you take any pains to satisfy yourself, before you gave this mem- 
orandum to the press as part of my orders, whether it was or was not apart 
of my orders proper ? — A. Nothing further than is implied in asking for 
it, and having received it at once without any further direction. That 
made it appear to me at once a subject as to which no further inquiry need 
be set out. To ask a clerk to deliver me a thing, and to have him hand 
it to me, and to have scanned it simply, seemed a settlement of the ques- 
tion beyond all doubt. Doubt was not raised until the dispatch came back 
from St. Johns, when it was asserted it was not in the programme. Then 
the whole orders were examined, as I before stated. 

By the Recoeder : 
Q. You had taken it for granted that they were part of his orders ? — 
A. Taken it for granted, and that with asking for a thing, having it found 
so readily — it was found in an instant — that there was no question how 
it went. 

By Lieutenant Garlington : 

Q. What do you mean by receiving it ? — A. For instance, T send for 
my chief clerk and ask him for those instructions and he hands them to 
me at once. I scanned them and recognized the paper I have in my mind; 
the fact is as I now state it, that I never for a moment understood any- 
thing else than that it was to be done until I examined them on the 15th 
of September, notwithstanding the defective form of the orders. 

Q. Did you not consider it a matter of sufficient importance to me in 
my absence to be perfectly straight before you gave out any instructions, 
or claimed instructions, that were furnished me ? — A. I considered my- 
self reasonably well informed that they were correct, or I should not have 
so received them. 



52 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. You say you tookyour chief clerk's word for it entirely ? — A. Not at 
all. I say I scanned them. The papers were handed to me. I identified 
them by looking at them. They seemed to be correct. 

■ Q. What do you mean by scanned them ? — :A. Looking over them with- 
out comparison with the originals. 

Q. Are you positive that this memorandum was prepared on the 3d of 
June ? — A. Yes, sir ; on the 3d of June, Sunday. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. When did General Hazen get back ? — A. On the 4th. 
By Lieutenant Garlington : 

Q. Was not this memorandum first prepared at least a week before the 
3dof June?— A. No. 

Q. Was it not prepared soon after you had been informed that General 
Hazen, just before his departure, had asked for a naval tender ? — A. No, 
it was not. 

Q. You are perfectly positive? — A. Perfectly. lam sure that it was 
prepared and that I came to the office for the express purpose of writing 
it on Sunday and that I gave up my morning to it. When the facts first 
came to my recollection I only knew that much — that I had written that 
memorandum on Sunday, and I was then confirmed in that knowledge by- 
various references, to the calendar and in other ways, for I found that on 
reference to the general's absence and his return on the 4th — my recollection 
before that had brought to me the fact that this memorandum was pre- 
pared by Captain Powell's order and asked for by Captain Powell because 
of the general's return. So, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, all working 
together, I felt confident, and do feel confident still, that there is no fault 
of recollection in that date. 

Q. Did you not speak to me as to the procrastination and of the difficul- 
ties which you met with in getting Captain Powell to take any action per- 
taining to Arctic matters? — A. I did. 

Q. Was not that paper included ? — A. It was not. 

Q,. You are certain of that? — A. I am sure. 

Q. Why had so long a time elapsed since you found that General Hazen 
had asked for this vessel before anything was done in the matter ? 

The Witness. Had asked for the Yantic? 

Lieutenant Garlington. Yes. 

The Witness. The letter asking for the Yantic was written on the 14th 
day of May, and no reply was ever received to it, and it is not within my 
province to visit the War Department or the chiefs of other Departments ; 
it belongs to the Chief Signal Officer or the officer acting in his place; I 
did complain of procrastination. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did Captain Powell, as Chief Signal Officer, ask you to write those 
instructions? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did he know what your views were on the subject ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You had had conversations together? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know what his views were ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. These were your own individual views? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Written merely for the acceptance of higher authority? — A. Yes, 
sir; they were for acceptance or rejection. I made no attempt to force 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 53 

them or put them forward. I had been asked to draw the memorandum. 
I wrote it and delivered it. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did you present to General Hazen those views ? — A. I did, sir. 

Q, Before the instructions were given ? — A, Yes, sir. The copy was 
given to General Hazen before the copy was made to go into Lieutenant 
Garlington's instructions. 

Q. As to the danger of taking all the stores through Smith's Sound? — A. 
No, sir. Did I present it to him? 

Q. Did you present your views ? — A. Not specially ; not very much. 

By Lieutenant Garlington : 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Captain Clapp, the officer in 
charge of this Arctic expedition, in reference to this particular memoran- 
dum ?— A. I did. 

Q. What was that conversation ? — A. Captain Clapp thought it a, ma- 
terial departure from the instructions, and was not very pleased that it 
should have been undertaken by me while he was the officer principally 
consulted in those matters. 

Q. Did he not consider it a gratuitous piece of work on your part ? — A. 
Really I do not know. He never told me so. 

Q. After you found out and had made up your mind fully, as you have 
stated, that this memorandum was in no way a part of my orders, did you 
take any pains to correct the impression that had been given to the Secre- 
tary of War and the Secretary of the Navy and other officials here? — A. 
Every effort possible was made to correct that impression. Captain Mills 
repeatedly saw the Secretary both because he was well disposed and because 
I asked him to do it; and it will be found in the New York Herald of the 
16th 

Q. [Interposing.] I am not asking about the Herald ; I am asking 
about the officials? — A. I think everything possible was done to correct 
that impression, but it had to be done guardedly. I was not cognizant of 
the conversation that had taken place between Mr. Garlington and General 
Hazen with reference to this matter. 

Q.. Did you have any communication with General Hazen also during 
his absence ? — A. No. 

Q. Did the Acting Chief Signal Officer, as far as you know ? — A. I do 
not know. 

(Lieutenant Garlington here closed his examination of the witness, re- 
serving the privilege on account of the necessary absence of his counsel 
elsewhere to further examine the witness should he deem it necessary, 
permission for which was granted by the court.) 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Do you know anything else that you think material to the questions 
before the court ? You have read the order convening the court, and you 
know, of course, the object of our inquiry. — A. No, sir ; I do not know 
anything else that I think of. 

The court then (at 3 o'clock p. m.) adjourned until 1 1 o'clock a. m. to- 
morrow. ■ 



54 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

"Washington, D. C, 
Friday, November 16, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder; also General Hazen, Lieutenant Caziarc, Lieutenant Gar- 
lington and his counsel. The proceedings of the previous day were read, 
corrected, and approved. 

General Hazen presented to the court a chart containing the informa- 
tion asked for yesterday, which is attached to the record of this day's pro- 
ceedings, marked Exhibit C ; whereupon 

Lieut. Louis V. Caziaec resumed the stand, and his examination was 
continued, as follows : 

The Witness. I see that the answer to the third question, from the 
top of page 50, is liable to a little misapprehension. The question was : 

Q. Please state in what t^rms I approved it. — A. Mr. Garlington read it three or four 
times* over, and there was a conversation between us on several points. One was the 
delay which would occur through landing the stores at Littleton Island, and in order to 
counteract that the last clause of that memorandum was put in as a saving clause. 

It is with regard to this landing of the stores at Littleton Island and this 
saving clause. The saving clause was put in very much less to aifect the 
landing of stores at Littleton Island, than to save any delay through the 
inabilit3^ or accident of the Yantic to keep up with the Proteus, and I 
think that answer might lead to some misapprehension. It lays too much 
stress upon avoiding the delay that might be incidental to landing the 
stores at Littleton Island and too little upon avoiding the delay of the 
Yantic through inability to keep near her. There is one other point to 
which I would like to direct attention — my general duties in the office 
regulations. The fourth paragraph requires me to familiarize myself with 
the general duties of the entire office, and for that purpose to closely scan 
as far as may be practicable all correspondence of a generally administra- 
tive nature, passing it afterwards to the division to which it pertains. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. I observe in reading the proceedings of yesterday that you pro- 
duced in court the original draft of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington. 
Perhaps it would be w^ell that you should read it. — A. With the marginal 
notes and all ? 

Q. Yes. — A. [Referring to and reading from original draft aforesaid.] 
Written in General Hazen's handwriting at the top of it is : 

Copy for Garlington and for Greely. 

Now, in the handwriting, which I recognize to be that of Captain Clapp : 

LETTER TO LIEUTENANT GAKLINGTON. 
SiB: You are aware of the necessity of reaching Lieutenant Greely with the expedition 
of this year and of relieving his party. This necessity cannot be overestimated. Lieu- 
tenant Greely's supplies will be exhausted during the coming fall, and unless the relief 
ship can reach him he will be forced with his party to retreat southward before the win- 
ter sets in. Such a retreat will involve extreme hardship and the probable abandon- 
ment of instruments and material, with possibly a loss of valuable records pertaining to 
the work of the past two years. 

In the last sentence the words "instruments and material," "possibly," 
"pertaining to the work of the past two years," are erased in ink, appa- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 55' 

rently by General Hazen, and words inserted which make the sentence: 
read as follows: 

Such a retreat will involve extreme hardship and the probable abandonment of much' 
valuable public property, with possible loss of important records and of life. 

Then it goes on in the writing of Captain Clapp : 

For these and other reasons which will occur to you, no effort must be spared to push 
the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay. Only when it is certain that this cannot be 
done will you decide to establish your party at Life-Boat Cove. 

In the event of being obstructed by ice in Smith's Sound or Kennedy Channel, you are- 
advised to try for a passage along the west coast, which beside being usually the most, 
practicable, will afitbrd better advantages for sighting and communicating with any party- 
sent out by Lieutenant Greely. 

From that sentence the word " for," following the word " try/' is erased" 
in ink, apparently by General Hazen, and the words "to find" inserted, sa^ 
that it reads " you will try to find a passage." Then it goes on in Captain: 
Clapp's handwriting : 

To make such communication more possible your party, or sufficient of the men, must: 
be able to send and receive readily messages by flag or torch, and these should be kept in 
readiness for instant use at all times when communication is possible. 

Erased from that sentence are the words " more possible," " sufficient of 
the men," " readily," and " these." All in pencil, and inserted in pencil in 
a handwriting which I cannot entirely identify, enough to make the sen- 
tence read : 

To make such communication surer your party, or enough of it, must be able to 
readily send and receive messages by flag or torch, and flags and torches should be kept 
in readiness for instant use at all times when communication is possible. 

In the margin opposite that last is written in pencil, apparently in the hand- 
writing of Professor Abb6 : 

Who of the men can read the signals ? If they understand it. 
And interlined, I think in the handwriting of Lieutenant Kilbourne : 

Grugan's heliostat. 
And another line : 

Greely has two. 

Apparently referring to the heliostats. Then it goes on in Captain? 
Clapp's handwriting : 

Should the vessel be unable to get through the ice to Lady Franklin Bay or to reach: 
the west coast at points above Cape Sabine it will be of great importance that Lieuten- 
ant Greely should know of the efforts being made to relieve him and of the plans for 
doing so. 

And opposite this, in the margin, is written, apparently in the hand- 
writing of Captain Mills, in lead pencil, the words : 

Has he spirit for the torches ? * 

I resume that, which is in Captain Clapp's handwriting : 

You will endeavor therefore to convey such intelligence, if practicable, and omit no- 
means of informing him or any of his party of the situation. Should any landings be: 
made at prominent points on the west coast during the eftbrts to get through the ice you 
will leave a short record of the facts (with such information as it is desirable to convey) 
so deposited and marked as to render it discoverable by parties traveling southward. 

From which are erased the two words, " the west," in the clause " prom- 



56 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

iuent points on the west coast," and the word " either " substituted, in 
pencil, in a handwriting which I cannot identify. I resume the reading : 

If such landings be made at points where caches of provisions have been made you 
will, if possible, examine them and reiDlace any damaged articles of food, leaving, of 
course, a record of your action. 

The words " have been made" are erased in pencil, and substituted are the 
w^ords " are located," also in pencil. 

When it becomes clearly apparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through, you will 
land your party at or near Littleton Island and prepare for remaining till relieved next 
year. 

That sentence has been altered by erasures and interlineations in pencil, 
all apparently in Captain Clapp's handwriting, so that it now reads: 

'^When it becomes clearly apparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through, you will 
retreat from the advance position and land your party and stores at or near Life-Boat 
■Cove, discharge the relief vessel with orders to return south, and prepare for remaining 
till relieved next year. 

Now, I go on with Captain Clapp's original writing : 

As soon as possible after landing, you will endeavor to communicate Avith Lieutenant 
■Greely, by sending a party of the most experienced and hardy men equipped for sledging, 
and carrying such stores as is practicable to Cape Sabine, whence a smaller party will 
push as far north as i^ossible, or until Lieutenant Greely 's party is met. 

In this sentence the following was inserted, after the words " as soon as 
possible after landing," apparently in the handwriting of Professor Abbe, 
■"or in case your vessel becomes unavoidably frozen up in the ice-pack." 
Erased in ink in this sentence is the word " sending," and inserted appar- 
ently in the handwriting of General Hazen, in place of it, " taking personal 
charge of," and the word ''and" preceding the word ''carrying" is also 
erased, apparently in the same hand, and the words "still headed by your- 
self" inserted in ink previous to the words " will push as far north as pos- 
sible," and the words "whence a smaller party" are also erased, and in- 
serted in a handwriting which I cannot identify are the words " more 
lightly equipped." Going on with Captain Clapp's draft we have: 

In this and other matters you will follow closely the instructions of Lieutenant Greely 
dated August 19, 1881, a printed copy of which is furnished you herewith. 

The men not employed in these expeditions will lose no time in housing themselves 
and in securing the stores preparatory to Lieutenant Greely's party. 

The sentence is amended in the handwriting of Captain Clapp by in- 
serting the words " arrival of" before the words " Lieutenant Greely's 
party." Inserted immediately after this clause, in black ink and appar- 
ently in the handwriting of Professor Abbe, is the following : 

You are allowed two observers and an outfit of scientific apparatus and will take every 
opportunity to add to our knowledge of meteorological, magnetic, and other phenomena. 

[Following this, by a direction to the margin, comes, in the handwriting 

of Captain Clapp : 

It is important that a careful and complete record of events should be made, and in 
case your party does not return this year that a full report be sent by the vessel on her 
return to St. John's. 

Following which, in the handwriting of Professor Abb6, also in pencil, is: 

Each member of your party should be required to keep a private diary which shall be 
open to the inspection of the Chief Signal Ofiicer only in case of necessity. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 57 

Resume reading the writing of Captain Clapp : 

The character and the amount of the (meteorological and other) scientific work to be 
accomplished if possible by your party is enumerated in an inclosed paper marked 

Blank. 

The words " if possible " have been erased in black ink and the word 
^' paper" erased and "memoranda" substituted for it. After the words. 
"marked," " B, C, D, E," inserted in black ink, and the word '' herewith," 
"B, C, D, E," being followed in brackets by the signature of Abbe, and 
evidently the words " memoranda," "B, C, D, E," and " herewith " are in- 
serted in his handwriting. I resume the reading of Captain Clapp's 
memoranda : 

Whenever a junction is effected with Lieutenant Greely you will report to him with 
your party for duty. 

An asterisk, pointing to the margin, here calls for an insertion in black 
ink of the following note in the handwriting of Professor Abbe : 

Should any important records or instruments have been left behind by Lieutenant 
<3rreely in his retreat, he may regain these by help of the steamer to be sent up in 1884. 

Resuming the reading of the writing of Captain Clapp : 

It is believed that with the stores and supplies sent out last year, Avhich are at St. 
John's, N. F., and at the G-reenland posts, together with the provisions and articles sup- 
plied this year, everything needful has been furnished, and that your party will have 
an abundance of all that is needful for its safety and success. 

The sentence has been altered by the interlineation after the words 
"^Greenland posts," in pencil, in the handwriting of Professor Abbe, " and 
which you will gather up on your way northward." Further down the 
word " needful," following the words " abundance of all that is," is erased 
in black ink and the word " necessary " inserted in the handwriting of 
General Hazen. I resume Captain Clapp's writing : 

I haA'e faith also that you zealously endeavor to effect the object of the expedition and 
succeed in relieving your comrades, who for two long dreary years have been shut out 
from the world by the. 

The words "by the" are erased in pencil, the word "will" inserted be- 
fore " zealously," apparently in the handwriting of Captain Clapp ; the 
words " have faith also " are erased in black ink and the words " believe 
and expect" substituted in the handwriting of General Hazen. All the 
words following " your comrades " are erased in black ink, apparently by 
General Hazen, and the following substituted : 

Since upon your efforts their lives may depend, and you cannot overestimate the grav- 
ity of the work intrusted to your charge. 

I resume reading Captain Clapp's manuscript : 

With best wishes for your success and the safe return of the united party, I am, &c. , 

In which has been iuserted following the word " with " the word " my," 
in black ink in the handwriting of General Hazen. 

(The second rough is produced by the witness, and being examined by 
the recorder, he states that he does not discover any material difference 
between its terms and those of the instructions actually issued to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, and therefore does not desire to consume any further 
time in examining the witness in reference to it. It was then shown to 
counsel for Mr. Garlington.) 



58 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Court : 

Q. It is in evidence that the views given in your memorandum had been 
discussed a good deal before a convoy was thought of. That was long be- 
fore your draft of the memorandum was made, on June 2. — A. Yes, sir. 
The convoy was applied for by a letter dated the 14th of May. 

Q. Therefore this discussion in the Signal Office of the terms of your 
memorandum was carried on a good deal before the 14th of May ? — A. I 
never heard of that discussion. 

Q. In some of the testimony given by you yesterday it seemed that 
you were instructed by the Acting Chief Signal Officer to prepare a mem- 
orandum for the use of the Navy Department? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And upon being questioned you said that you did not prepare that 
memorandum as embodying the views of anybody else than yourself? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. In the testimony given by General Hazen he says : 

After Congress last winter had passed a law requiring that the Greely expedition be 
brought back this year and before the second ship or a convoy was thought of, it seemed 
to me that it wovild be necessary for the expedition going up to vary the Greely instruc- 
tions so far as to land at Littleton Island and land the stores. That plan was thought 
of a great deal, and it was discussed a great deal, as was the plan also of making the 
depot on the west side of Smith's Sound. But after it was arranged to send a tender — 
that of itself would be a depot, there being also several small depots along that coast — 
I determined to return strictly to the Greely memoranda, and after that did so. 

So tliat according to this it seems that this whole matter, which was the 
matter that was embodied in your memorandum, had been discussed weeks 
before you made out that memorandum. Now, in the statement that you 
made, it seemed that the memorandum was an original idea with you, and 
that it was not made under specific instructions from higher authority ? — 
A. It was original so far as I was concerned. 

Q. Had you had any conversation before that with anybody? — A. No, 
sir. 

Q. Did you know that it had been discussed in the office before that? — 
A. No, sir; but the court will observe that I had not been upon office 
duties, such as is customary, for some time ; from some time early in May 
until the 18th, subsequent to the application for this ship, I was on special 
duty, mainly out of the office, and a discussion might have taken place 
without my knowing it. 

Q. You have given evidence that the inclosures and memorandum for 
Lieutentant Garliugton were prepared in your division and were all sub- 
mitted to General Hazen, signed by him, and delivered by you to the offi- 
cers addressed. Did you then examine them ; and, if so, did you notice 
whether the memorandum was among the inclosures ? — A. Yes, I knew 
that the memorandum was among the inclosures, and my attention was 
specially called to it by my chief clerk. 

Q. As the Chief Signal Officer had signed the paper which accompa- 
nied that memorandum, what opinion did you form as to the value of the 
memorandum at that time ? — A. I think I treated that very much as one 
necessarily treats a good many orders that are issued. We do not pass 
upon their value or validity often until some question is raised. Orders 
are issued and obeyed, of course, and a strict legal examination of the 
valufi of an order is very often deferred until something, as in the present 
case the return of Mr. Garlington, brings it up, and it seems to be a very 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 5^ 

important, vital question to the reputation of an officer or to the best 
interests of the service, either from a disciplinary or any other point of 
view. Then the order will be taken and carefully examined. About this 
order there are points where I wish my memory was fresher, but thia 
happened some time ago. I am confident that it was not inserted in those- 
instructions by my own personal wish or desire ; that in putting it in 
there I had or thought I had a warrant for it on the part of my own 
chief. I could have had no desire to put it in myself, and the testimony 
that General Hazen may have given in the matter may show that he did 
not see it among the inclosures, or that he did not look over the inclos- 
ures carefully. But further than that I cannot explain. I have no ex- 
planation to oiFer for myself. 

Q. It came to you from General Hazen inclosed in the same envelope 
with the instruction ? — A. I do not think it was in the envelope when it 
went to General Hazen. 

Q. Yes, I know; but I am speaking of when it came from General 
Hazen ? — A. They came to me together. 

Q. Was the memorandum in the envelope with the orders to Lieutenant 
Garlington that had been signed by General Hazen? — A. Yes, sir; in such 
an envelope as was used. They may have been attached by a rubber band 
or merely laid together. 

Q. You do not remember whether it was inside of the envelope and ad- 
dressed? — A. No, sir; I do not think it was. I do not think the envelope- 
is generally addressed until after that, because they would go upstairs to 
be compared at once before they went out, in order that the changes neces- 
sary on our roughs be made for the required copies. The ordinary routine 
would be to send them upstairs. They would be addressed, put in an 
envelope, and then sent to me. 

Q. According to your recollection, did they come to you from General 
Hazen as if it was the intention of General Hazen that that memoran- 
dum should accompany the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. That was your understanding ? — A. Yes, sir. They went to him 
and they came back to me without remark of any kind. I was not questioned 
as to why the memorandum was put in there and I remember nothing 
about it. The conversation between Mr. Garlington and General Hazen 
was never reported to me by either of those officers, nor did it ever come 
to my knowledge until after Mr. Garlington's return. 

Q,. When that paper came back it merely had the signature of the Chief 
Signal Officer to the letter of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. And therefore you prepared the papers that were put in the envel- 
ope addressed to Lieutenant Garlington as inclosures ? — A. Yes, I found 
them in the papers I received. 

Q. But you do not remember whether that memorandum was in the 
envelope that came from General Hazen ? — A. I do not think it was in 
the envelope. 

Q. Was it in the condition in which such papers come from General 
Hazen for you to transmit? — A. Yes, sir; unquestionably. 

Q. If I remember your testimony, what was given to the Acting Chief 
Signal officer was that memorandum that you have submitted to the ccftirt 



60 PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUINY. 

here — your original draft of the memorandum ? — A. No ; from this draft 
a copy wa.s made. 

Q,. What was it you gave to the Acting Chief Signal Officer ? — A. A 
■copy of that draft. 

Q. And was that the draft which was returned to you and which you 
inclosed in the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. No, sir ; that 
•copy I never saw again. I had reason to believe that that copy had been 
taken to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q. What copy was it, then, that you sent to Lieuteuant Garlington ? — 
A. Another copy of that paper. 

Q. AVho made it? — A. It was made by the clerks in my division ; I 
do not know by whom. 

Q. But it came to you from General Hazen ? — A. No, sir ; it was sub- 
mitted by me to General Hazen with all the papers. 

Q. Then you submitted one copy to the Acting Chief Signal Officer 
and afterwards submitted another copy to the Chief Signal Officer ? — A. 
Yes, sir. What I call the original paper was the one prepared for the 
Secretary of the Navy, which I always supposed was delivered to him. 

Q. And which was a copy, or rather framed from the original rough 
that you have here? — A. Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. When was the preparation of instructions for Lieutenant Garlington 
first considered in your office ? — A. I said in my testimony yesterday I 
thought about the latter part of April, but since going more particularly 
into this matter and seeing some of these papers, I am inclined to think it 
€ould not have been long prior to the 16th of May, and must have been 
between the last of April and the 16th of May, the date when the memo- 
randum was sent around to the officers, accompanied by the rough draft of 
these instructions. That memorandum I exhibited in court y&sterday is 
dated the 16th of May. 

Q. On the 14th of May a letter was addressed from the Signal Office to 
# the Secretary of the Navy asking for the tender, was it not ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were you cognizant of what took place with respect to the prepara- 
tion of these instructions previous to that time ? 

The Witness. Previous to the 14th or 16th of May ? 

Mr. Kent! Yes. 

A. I was at all times prior to the second day of May, but between the 
second day of May and the eighteenth day of May I knew much less than 
■ordinarily of what was going on in the office. I was employed during that 
time in editing this book of Office Regulations. 

Q. General Hazen in his letter of the 16th of October, transmitting 
Lieutenant Garlington's report to the Secretary of War, states that the in- 
structions to land stores at Littleton Island before going north of that 
point was first determined upon, but afterward, it having been arranged 
to send a ship of the United States Navy with the Proteus, the absolute 
necessity of first stopping to unload at Littleton Island was obviated, and 
then it was thought best that the original instructions of Lieutenant Greely 
should be regarded. Did you have any information respecting what oc- 
curred in the office relating to the first orders which were contemplated? — 
A.^It is not within my knowledge that any discussion took place on 



PEOCEEDINGS OP PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 61 

that subject; that is, preceding the draft which I prepared, in which that 
plan was embodied. 

Q. Was the draft of the instructions, as given to Lieutenant Garlington, 
submitted to you as one of the officers of the Department for comment ? — 
A. It w^as not. 

Q. Was the second draft, bearing date June 4, submitted to you ? [Sub- 
mitting a paper to witness.] — A. Not formally. But I find corrections in 
my own writing in this, and I find more of such corrections in the letter 
to Lieutenant Greely which was drafted at the same time. 

Q. To which letter do you refer ? — A. The letter to Lieutenant Greely 
transmitting a copy of these papers to him by Lieutenant Garlington ; and 
so, in connection with the scientific outfit, some of those papers have a 
good many alterations of mine in them. This paper [indicating a paper]^, 
Memorandum A, for Lieutenant Garlington, is full of corrections ; that 
is, with regard to closing scientific work at that point — the meteorological 
work. 

Q. Then the paper referred to in my question, bearing date the 4th of 
June, passed through your hands ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And was by you inspected? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. As of what date ? — A. On the 4th and 5th of June. 

Q. On the 4th of June that paper was in your hands ? — A. Certainly. 

Q,. On the 3d of June, I understand, you had prepared the memo- 
randum instruction referred to here ? — A. On the 3d of June. 

Q. Did it become apparent to you, upon the knowledge of those two 
papers that you had at that time, that there was a direct conflict between 
them ? — A. Not so direct as had been assumed. There was a direct con- 
flict between them to one extent : so far as aflPected the orders to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington. In that respect they were in direct conflict, and one 
or the other should have been amended. 

Q. So far as regarded Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. Undoubtedly. 

Q. I understand that this memorandum of instruction, described as In- 
closure No. 4, was not prepared as an order to Lieutenant Garlington^ 
but merely as a memorandum copied to be sent to the Secretary of the Navy 
for his government in preparing such instructions as he might wish for 
the tender ? — A. That is the correct understanding, and it will be seen on 
scrutinizing it that it is formed on that basis ; that the officers concerned 
are not addressed by name, but that *' the Yantic" will do so and so, 
" the Proteus " will do so and so. There were no personal directions con- 
tained in it to any one. 

Q. I understood you to say that you had this paper copied early on 
the morning of the 4th ? — A. I had it ready for Captain Powell at the 
beginning of business on the 4th. 

Q. You gave it to Captain Powell? — A. I did. 

Q. What other memorandum did you make of this paper at that time ? — 
A. Nothing further than to keep the rough from which it was prepared. 

Q. Then, what further memorandum did you make from that rough? — 
A. Another copy of this rough was made for Lieutenant Garlington ; that 
is, in addition to what I considered the original paper which was handed 
to Captain Powell, a copy was made and became an inclosure to Lieuten- 
ant Garlington's instructions. 

Q. Your second copy ? — A. Yes, sir. 



62 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Will you please state clearly and succinctly the history of that copy 
when it went from your hands ? — A. All the iuclosures to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington's instructions, and all the iuclosures to Lieutenant Greely's letter 
which inclosed to him copies of Lieutenant Garlington's instructions, had 
necessarily to be collected ; they were collected, put with the letters, being 
marked, so far as necessary, so far as they were referred to in the body of 
the text, so that they could be easily identified from other iuclosures put 
with those letters before General Hazen for his signature; after being 
signed by him they were returned to me. 

Q. Then it was a copy that was inclosed in Lieutenant Garlington's 
letter of instruction ? — A. A copy in the sense that the one made for Cap- 
tain Powell was the original. 
• Q. What did you ever hear from the original that you gave to Captain 
Powell, the then Acting Signal Officer ? — A. I was' informed by General 
Hazen, not on the 4th or 5th of June, but perhaps on the 6th or 7th, that 
he had given that paper to the Secretary of the Navy, and that the plan 
for the movements of the Yantic would be made or had been made con- 
formably to that paper. 

Q. Had General Hazen seen the copy of the original given Captain 
Powell before it was sent in Garlington's envelope ? — A, That I do not 
remember. That is a point I wish I could remember, but I cannot recall 
it and cannot state it with any certainty. 

Q,. The letter of instructions, then, was returned to you by General 
Hazen signed? — A. Returned to me signed with the iuclosures without 
remark by him. 

Q. In answer to the question, " Did you present to General Hazen those 
views?" having reference to the views spoken of, you answer "I did, 
sir."— A. I did. 

Q. And before the instructions were given? — A. Yes, sir; before the 
instructions were given. 

Q. What did General Hazen say with regard to that memorandum of 
instructions ? — A. I understood him that they were to be used as pro- 
jected ; that they were to be handed to the Secretary of the Navy, and, if 
so handed, that of course involved his assent to the plan. The mere 
handing of them would be an adoption of them. Otherwise I should have 
expected him to return them to me with the desire to have that part which 
relates to the landing of stores at Littleton Island on the way of the Pro- 
teus north stricken out. It would have been natural for me to expect the 
return of the memorandum from his desk in order for me to complete my 
record. 

Q. Ordinarily would you have expected such a paper as that to have' 
been signed by the Chief Signal Officer and returned to you with his ap- 
proval ? 

The Witness. That inclosure ? 

Mr. Kent. Yes. 

A. No ; I think as I said yesterday, that the better course would have 
been the change of the order ; to make the order conform to that change of 
plan beyond what was already contained in the order. 

Q. Inasmuch as the order was not changed so as to comply with this 
inclosure, and there was no signature to the inclosure, did you assume that 
the inclosure, under those circumstances, was approved and so act upon it 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 63 

as an approved order? — A. I did until after the receipt of Mr. Garlingtou's 
telegram from St. John's. It should be remembered in that connection 
that it appears in the report of Lieutenant Garlington, and in testimony, I 
am sure, that conversations took place between Lieutenant Garlington and 
General Hazen regarding the effect that this memorandum would have 
upon the order. Now none of these conversations were reported to me, 
and I think it would be clear to you that General Hazen might have made 
exactly the opposite reply. I spoke guardedly yesterday in my testi- 
mony with regard to that point. I was obliged, General Hazen being absent, 
to be very careful that I said nothing that when he returned would be 
disapproved hy him. I could not tell what conversations had taken place 
between Mr. Garlington and himself, and the relation of this conversation, 
of which I was ignorant, was indicative of my position in the matter. 
General Hazen being absent and not available to be questioned, I was 
oblisred therefore to assent to nothins; until his return. But that did not 
prevent me from ability to declare my opinion when asked by the Acting 
Chief Signal Officer during General Hazen's absence as to the force of a 
memorandum of that -sort accompanying his orders. 

Q. In the rough of instructions bearing date June 4, which passed 
through your hands, you made no suggestion as to the propriety of depos- 
iting stores at Littleton Island on the northward course of the Proteus ? 
— A. No. I think that a fuller answer is necessary to that last question, 
otherwise it might become misleading. It should be remembered that 
although a letter had been addressed to the Secretary of War on the 14th 
of May, asking for the detail of a naval ship by the Secretary of the 
Navy, no reply had been received to that communication, and that I had no 
information of the action taken beyond my conversations with the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer regarding the use of this memorandum ; that I had never seen, nor 
was a copy of the instructions of the Yantic furnished us for record until after 
the report of the disaster of this expedition, Avhen we procured a memorandum 
copy from the Secretary of the Navy, which was subsequently returned to 
him, and that we have not on file in our office now any reply to that let- 
ter, or any information in regard to the co-operation of these two ves- 
sels, while I had before me, on the contrary, the clause of Lieutenant Gar- 
lingtou's instructions, which the general had added at the last moment 
that the United States ship, the Yantic, would accompany him, &c. Now 
as to the arrangement of any plan of co-operation, there was no record 
evidence of anything beyond that contained in the last clause which gave 
power to Lieutenant Garlington to arrange with the commander of the 
Yantic on the spot such plan of co-operation as might be necessary. On 
Saturday Captain Powell asked me to prepare this memorandum. On 
Sunday I prepared it. On Monday I delivered it to him. On Sunday 
the rough of the order of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington stood 
without that last clause as to the co-operation between the two ships. The 
plan of co-operation then was made to rest upon such an agreement as 
might be entered into between the two Departments on my memorandum. 
Subsequently, on Monday, the general added that last memorandum. 

Q. That being the case, what was the propriety of inserting in the en- 
velope containing the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington a memoran- 
dum paper which was intended as the basis of instruction to be given by 
the Secretary of the Navy for the government of the tender ? — A. Inde- 



64 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

penclently of the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington I conceived it to 
have been important and necessary that he should be furnished with a 
copy of any agreement entered into between the Chief Signal Officer and 
the Secretary of the Navy, or between the War and Xavy Departments, 
with regard to the plan of co-operation of those two ships; and I had 
supposed until recently that that plan was adopted and that the insertion 
of this inclosure was upon that basis. 

Q. Do you remember whether or not there was a telegram received 
from General Hazen, while he was in St. John's, requesting that no action 
should be taken respecting a tender until his return ? — A. I do not quite 
remember that. I should like to refresh my memory by consulting the 
telegrams before answering that question. 

By the Court : 

Q. As I understood it, you stated that when you received all these 
papers back from the Chief Signal Officer, and prepared them for trans- 
mittal to Lieutenant Garlington, you considered from your examination of 
it that the memorandum was part of the instructions? — -A. Yes, sir. 

Q. I desire to know whether you examined the papers sufficiently to 
find out whether in the letter of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, 
signed by the Chief Signal Officer, there was any reference to that memo- 
randum as an inclosure to that letter of instructions ? — A. Yes, sir ; I 
knew that there was not. 

Q. You knew there was not? — A. I knew there was not. 

Q. Have you not testified before, that upon examination of all the 
papers since the disaster you came to the conclusion that that memorandum 
was not part of the instructions, and the principal reason was that there 
was no reference to it in the letter? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How do you reconcile those two views ? — A. Merely on the ground 
that a mistake was made in not making a more careful examination of the 
papers before speaking about them. 

Q. I mean, did you make a sufficiently careful examination to be satis- 
fied whether that letter did make a reference to that memorandum or not 
before you gave it to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. Yes, sir ; I think I 
did. 

Q. And you knew that there was no reference to that memorandum as 
one of the inclosures ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And yet you thought at the time, finding that memorandum, it must 
have been a part of his instructions, although you have changed your 
mind since ? — A. I said so when the first recollection of what these orders 
were came back on the news of this disaster, and therefore I did not look 
at the memorandum again. 

Q. And that was without full consideration of the subject? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. And now your opinion is fixed in regard to the matter ? — A. There 
is no question about that. 

Capt. Samuel M. Mills, Fifth Artillery, Acting Signal Officer, be- 
ing duly sworn, was examined as follows: 

By the Eecorder : 

Q. On what duty are you now ? — A. I am property and disbursing 
)fficer of the Signal Service. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 65 

Q. Oil duty in the office at Washington ? — A. In the office of the Chief 
Signal Officer at Washington. 

Q. From what time to what time last summer and fall were you in 
charge of the Signal Office ? — A. I think from about the 10th of July 
until, perhaps, about the 1 5th of October. 

Q. Do you know anything respecting the instructions to Lieutenant 
Garlington or the so-called supplementary instructions prior to that first 
date ? — A. I do not ; nothing until after the news of the disaster. 

Q. You have seen the letter of the Secretary of War calling upon the 
Chief Signal Officer for explanation of certain discrepancies in reports and 
copies furnished by your office? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Now, will you state what you know of the matter fully without 
being more particularly interrogated ? — A. A copy of the first letter re- 
ferring to the letter of instructions of June 4, 1883, Appendix A, I 
gave the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Commodore English, at the request 
of the Secretary of War, which was a hektograph copy. [Referring to a 
paper handed him by the recorder.] I refer to the third column of the 
tabular statement accompanying the letter of the Secretary of War to the 
Chief Signal Officer, of October 31, and will read : 

Copy of letter of instructions. Red ink insertions in this copy not on original or any 
copy of first given to Secretary of the Navy. 

A day or so after furnishing the hektograph copy, which was done at 
the request of the Secretary of the Navy, he sent for me and showed me 
the letter that he had prepared to be sent to Lieutenant-Commander Wildes, 
and, after commenting upon these instructions, I said : " Mr. Secretary, the 
memorandum referred to is not referred to in the body of the letter of instruc- 
tions to Garlington in the original." "But," he says, "it is in this copy 
that you have given me." I took the copy, and I saw that it was in red 
ink marked "fourth inclosure" at the bottom of the fourth paragraph. I 
said, " This is entirely a mistake. It must have been that the clerk in 
hurriedly making a copy has seen some pencil note that he has copied in red 
ink because it does not exist in the original." He says also, " This copy 
is not signed." Says I, " Mr. Secretary, a hektograph copy is never signed, 
but I will make that to all intents and purposes a copy of Mr. Garling- 
ton's instructions," and I turned the paper over and marked "H. B. 
Hazen." I should have written " W. B, Hazen, Chief Signal Officer." 
It seems the original copy had been signed "Brigadier-General" and so 
on, " Chief Signal Officer," and I said, just simply to make it a perfect 
copy, " I will make it so." Then he remarked, " This purports to be an 
official copy of the records of the Chief Signal Office." I said, "So they 
are to all intents and purposes, excepting these little corrections I have 
made," but particularly told him about that memorandum, that it was not 
referred to in the original letter, and that it was a clerical error its being 
marked fourth inclosure, and upon investigation I found out how that 
probably occurred ; in the margin of one of the copies that the clerk sub- 
sequently made this hektograph copy from, it is marked "4 Inch," so 
some other clerk, when called upon for a copy to give to the Secretary 
of War, instead of putting that in in pencil as he found it there, put it 
in in, red ink in the body of the letter; that explains that; with those 
exceptions those copies are identical with the copies that were given to the 
Secretary of the Navy before and to the Secretary of War ; the next cov- 
S. Ex. 100 5 



66 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

rection here is the same ; he says on the paper, " Written to the Secretary of 
War before departure of expedition " ; that is the same paper apparently 
given after ; "imperfect copy of memorandum, supplementary instructions 
pinned to copy of letter and marked Inclosure 4, called in red ink note on 
page 8 Inclosure 4." That may have been so marked on the paper the 
Secretary had, but I do not know whether what I told him with reference 
to the marking in the body of the instructions applied to this mark that 
was on the inclosure or not. But the original copy of the memorandum, 
which is known and sometimes referred to as Inclosure 4, had no mark of 
Inclosure 4, and if the Secretary had asked me why it was marked Inclo- 
sure 4 I could not have told him because I had not seen the original. But 
I have since seen the original and I found that the original had no mark 
Inclosure 4 on it. No doubt it was marked in the office " Inclosure 4 " 
before it went to the Secretary of the Navy, and from the record books it 
appears that that was Inclosure 4 ; but in comparing the original records 
with the copies furnished by Lieutenant Garlington, Inclosure 4 was 
another paper entirely. It was a copy of the charter party contract, and it 
does not appear that that was sent to him at all, so that there is a discrepancy 
between this paper and the record. Inclosure 4 was not the memorandum, 
although the record books show that it was, but it was a copy of the char- 
ter party. 

By the Court : 

Q. When you were called upon to supply those papers to the Secretary 
of the Navy did you or did you not understand that you were expected to 
supply copies of all the papers that were given to Lieutenant Garlington? — 
A. Oh, no. There were a great many papers that I knew he would not 
require, such as the list of stores, list of instruments, detailed instructions 
for observers, &c. 

Q. The question is whether he did not apply for those, and when he 
asked for those papers whether or not you should have given him the 
copies of all the papers that were given to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. 
What he wanted was the instructions. I think what he asked for was 
the instructions of Lieutenant Garlington. 

Q. I merely asked the question on what the Secretary of War says in 
that letter. — A. I think that, with a moment's explanation to the Secre- 
tary of War to show the character of those papers, he would immediately 
say that he would not require those. 

Q. I understand that. I merely wanted to ascertain what call he made 
upon your office ? — A. It was for Lieutenant Garlington's instructions. 

Q. If you were called upon for the instructions to any officer would you 
not include, in copying those instructions, copies also of all the inclosures 
referred to in the body of his instructions ? — A. Yes, if I thought there 
was going to be an official investigation. To go into the matter thoroughly 
they should all have been included. But being hastily called upon for 
these instructions to find out whether or not he had complied with them, 
I did not take them. In fact I was not familiar with them myself because 
I had never seen them before. While going over to his office I was famil- 
iarizing myself with what his instructions had been. 

Q. You sent him also a copy of the Signal Office Notes No. 5, they be- 
ing the report of Mr. Beebe, of 1882 ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Why did you send them, as they were not included in the instrue- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 67 

tions to Lieutenant Garlington? — A. I am not certain, but my impression 
is that that was a printed Signal Service note, and I do not just recall it 
by its number. But I thought there was a list of stores on one of the sheets. 
If I could see it I could identify it. I think that is the reason I took it 
over. One paper I know I took over, because I had made some pencil 
marks on one of the leaves to show the Secretary how many rations had 
been left. [After referring to the Signal Service Note alluded to.] I recall 
now why I took this over. My impression is I took this over because I 
had marked certain paragraphs in which Mr. Beebe reported where he had 
cached stores, so that I could tell the Secretary the diiferent places where 
stores were left. 

Q. Did the Secretary say anything to you as to why you omitted bring- 
ing the inclosures? — A. Oh, no, sir. In fact they just passed through his 
hands to the Secretary 0/ the Navy. 

By the Kecorder : 

Q. So far as you know, in answering these calls for information, they 
were all answered in good faith and with the intention of furnishing all 
the information that was thought to be wanted ? — A. Thoroughly so. 

Q. And if any errors occurred they were clerical errors, due to haste 
and the mistake of the clerks or other officials under your command at that 
time? — A. Purely so. I went over the Secretary's letter very carefully, and all 
the discrepancies are susceptible of immediate explanation if I had the 
three copies here — the record books and the different copies. You will 
find one is erased with pencil, another marked with ink, another with red 
pencil, another with black pencil, but they are all susceptible of explana- 
tion, remembering that marking this " Inclosure 4 " when it was inclosure 
four, according to the record books, when the original copy was not marked 
inclosure four. 

By the Court : 

Q. On writing official papers of that sort, and when copies are made of 
them, are those copies always compared, whether when entered into your 
permanent record books or when copies are made for transmittal out- 
side ? — A. I don't know. 

Q. They are never compared? — A. I do not know whether they are 
compared or not, because I had not the management of the records. I can 
give you a statement with reference to the furnishing of that coal if you 
wish. The same parties at St. John's made the same contract as previously 
and they copied the exact phraseology, because at that time it was contem- 
plated that this coal was to go forward and be left with Lieutenant Greely. 
But in this expedition the coal was purchased for Lieutenant Garlington, 
to be left with him. Lieutenant Greely's name, however, was put in. We 
purchased the seventy-five tons of coal from the party at St. John's and 
shipped it. I invoiced it to Lieutenant Garlington. It was to be un- 
loaded where he unloaded. But the contract was drawn like the previous 
one, though it was never intended that that coal was to be invoiced to Lieu- 
tenant Greely. But that was all corrected before the party left. That 
part of the contract was canceled and I bought the coal of another party. 

By the Recorder : 
Q,. You had no direct charge of the papers or correspondence of tlie 



68 PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEtlS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

office? — A. No, sir; not at all. I just merely found myself in charge 
and took the records as I found them. They were put in my hands 
and I acted upon the papers, supposing they were the correct records. 

Lieut. John C. Colwell, of the United States Navy, being duly 
sworn, was examined as follows : 

By the Recoedee : 

Question. You are a lieutenant in the United States Navy ? — Answer. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. You were attached to the United States ship Yantic last June? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. When that ship conveyed Lieutenant Garlington's command to St. 
John's ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was that your first acquaintance with Mr. Garlington? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. Will you state how you became connected with his command ? — 
A. On the way up, in conversing with Lieutenant Garlington one even- 
ing upon the subject of the expedition, I suggested to him that I would 
like to accompany him. In talking it over he said it would be a good 
idea, and he would see if he could not arrange it when he got to St. 
John's. We arrived in St. John's on the 21st of June. Lieutenant Gar- 
lington telegraphed to General Hazen and I telegraphed to the Chief of the 
Bureau of Navigation asking to be allowed to join Lieutenant Garlington. 
Lieutenant Garlington telegraphed to General Hazen asking to have me de- 
tailed. I received an answer on the evening of the 22d of June from Com- 
modore Walker, the chief of the Bureau of Navigation, saying no. The 
next day I received another telegram from Commodore Walker, in which 
he said, " Report to Lieutenant Garlington for duty as a member of his 
party," and I reported the same evening, June 23, to Lieutenant Garlington, 

Q. And you sailed ? — A. I moved all my effects on board the Proteus 
on the 28th of June, and we sailed on the 29th from St. John's in com- 
pany with the Yantic. 

Q. Was the loading of the Proteus completed when you reported? — 
A. With the exception of some stores that had been left over from the 
expedition of last year and the lumber for the house. 

Q,. Do you know in what condition those stores were found ? 

The Witness. The stores left from last year ? 

The Pecoedee. Yes. 

A. I do not know in what condition they were found. 

Q. They were put aboard before you sailed ? — A. They were put on 
. board before we sailed. 

Q. You have read, of course. Lieutenant Garlington's report of the ex- 
pedition? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. As far as your knowledge extends, does that report present a correct 
and faithful account of what occurred in the history of the expedition up 
to the time you parted company with Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. At the time of the wreck of the Proteus, what was the behavior of 
the crew ? — A. Very bad. 

Q. Did Captain Pike say anything to you or in your presence respect- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 69 

ing their behavior ? — A. Some time after the ship went down, probably 
an hour or so, I was on a cake of ice that was floating out to sea, and some 
of the Proteus men with me, with two of our own men. Two of the Pro- 
teus men ran away, refused to stay with me, and went back with the main 
party on a sound floe. About an hour afterward I rejoined the other 
jjarty, and, calling Captain Pike, I told him that he had some few good 
men, but the greater part of his crew were a worthless, cowardly lot. He 
said, " I know it, but I can do nothing with them. I wish I had the lot 
of men I had with me on the last expedition." 

Q. At the time of that wreck was everything possible done by Lieu- 
tenant Garlington and his party to save and secure the stores ? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. All were secured that it was possible to secure in view of,/ the con- 
dition of the ice and the circumstances generally ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was your view at the time of the proper course to be pursued 
by Lieutenant Garlington ? 

The "Witness. After the wreck ? 

The Eecordee. Yes. 

A. My idea was that I should take a boat with a picked lot of men, 
and lightly equipped start south, making as good way as I could for Uper- 
navik to get the news to the Yantic, the main body to cross the Sound and 
follow down along the east coast making as good time as they could, as I 
did not suppose the Yantic would be able to get north through Melville 
Bay under her instructions, but that if she got news of the disaster she 
would then make a more determined effort to reach us than she would 
under her original instructions, and the main body with Lieutenant Gar- 
lington keeping on down the east coast would meet the Yantic on her way 
up. In case the Yantic did not succeed in getting up they would have a 
chance of reaching the Danish settlements by themselves without help. 

Q. What knowledge of the instructions to the commander of the Yantic 
had you? — A. None, except just what was the general talk. I had never 
seen the instructions ; but the talk among the officers on board was that 
the ship was not going into the ice, and I gathered that also from con- 
versation with Commander Wildes. 

Q. Can you recall precisely what he said to you at any time on that 
subject, using his own words as nearly as possible? — A. In Godhaven, 
in speaking to Captain Wildes about the ice we had met off" the coast of 
Labrador, I told him the Yantic would probably have had a pretty 
lively time in that ice; that her' sheathing would not have stood long in 
it. He said he would not have gone into it — he would not have put the 
ship into the ice. 

Q. Will you describe plainly the character of that ice?— A. It was Arc- 
tic ice — hard, blue ice. 

Q. What thickness would it average ? — A. It would average possibly 
about eight or ten feet, very loose. 

Q. And broken up in small pieces ? — A. Very much broken up in small 
pieces. 

Q. You met with large quantities of that ice in Melville Bay? — A. In 
Melville Bay the general character of the ice was not Arctic ice ; it was the 
Melville Bay pack-ice, which averages about four feet thick ; but there was 
Arctic ice in it, and that ice was much closer than the ice we saw off" Lab- 



70 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

rador; the cakes were very large, and the ice impenetrable to the Proteus 
in some places. 

Q. I remember the report of Lieutenant Garlington on that point. You 
were beset frequently, were you not? — A. Not regularly beset, but stopped 
by unbroken, impenetrable ice. 

Q,. Therefore you had formed the opinion at the time of the wreck of 
the Proteus that Captain Wildes would not enter that ice? — A. That he 
would not enter it. 

Q. That he could not cross Melville Bay ? — A. That he would not do it. 

Q. That he ought rfot under his instructions? — A. That he ought not 
under his instructions, as I understood them. 

Q. Do you think the Yantic could have accompanied you through that 
ice ? — A. No, sir ; it could not have accompanied us. 

Q. Do you think that the Yantic could have passed through the ice 
in Melville Bay, through which you passed, with safety to herself? — A. 
It would have been possible, but it would have been inadvisable, fitted as 
the Yantic was and with her crew, with the possibility of being beset in 
the ice or caught in it for the winter. 

Q. You think it would have been of unusual danger to a naval 
vessel ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Had the Yantic any special equipment for service in the Arctic re- 
gions? — A. Her battery was taken off, all her ordnance stores were landed, 
and she was sheathed from the bow to a little abaft of foremast with 
oak planking spiked on the outside of her copper. 

Q. To what thickness? — A. About three inches abreast of the fore- 
mast. It was thicker right on the bow, probably six inches at the cut-water. 

Q,. You read Lieutenant Garlington's instructions on your way up? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And were familiar with those instructions ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And with Lieutenant Greely's letter of advice as to what should be 
done with a view to his safety ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Lieutenant Garlington with 
reference to this Inclosure No. 4, as it is called ? — A. Not until after we 
got back to St. John's. 

Q. Did you know of its existence ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. How did you find the stores belonging to the expedition when you 
came to use them? — A. Good, with the exception of the skin clothing, 
which was bad. The pemmican was also partly spoiled — mouldy. 

Q. I will ask you if you know what rations the Yantic carried ? — A. 
Not certainly ; no, sir. I understood when she left New York that she 
had eight months' provisions on board of ordinary Navy rations. 

Q. What is the complement of a ship of the third rate like the Yan- 
tic? — A. The Yantic when she sailed out of New York had 20 officers 
and 126 men aboard of her as her crew. She afterward got an ice-pilot 
at St. John's. She was six men short of her complement. Her comple- 
ment is 132. 

Q. Now, I will ask you how long it would have taken to land at Lit- 
tleton Island or Life-Boat Cove or Pandora Harbor or some contiguous 
place where it would be most convenient, say 15,000 rations? — A. Two 
and a half or three days Avith the facilities the ship had. 

Q. Suppose those rations had been j)repared for the purpose of landing, 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 71 

placed on top of the rest of the cargo in the most convenient form for 
landing, how long would it have taken then ? — A. She probably could 
have done it in two days. 

Q. Did or did you not hear on your voyage to Smith's Sound the idea 
discussed of making, on your way up, a depot in the neighborhood of Lit- 
tleton Island? — A. Yes, sir; I did. 

Q. Please state by whom it was discussed and what was said generally? 
— A. I talked over with Lieutenant Garlington several times that clause 
in his instructions about landing provisions there. He at no time pro- 
posed to land them on the way up, but to first make his trial north and to 
examine the diiferent places on the coast where, according to the latest 
Arctic explorers, there are good places for winter quarters and places much 
more accessible to Lieutenant Greely's camp, Fort Conger. The idea 
Lieutenant Garlington expressed several times was, that failing to get up 
with the ship he would return and examine several of these places. His 
idea was that the place known as Alexandra Harbor, mentioned by Captain 
Nares, would be a place much more suitable than Littleton Island, and if 
it appeared so to him after making a personal examination he thought of 
making his camp there, where he would be much nearer to Lieutenant 
Greely, and on the same mainland. 

Q. In case he was obliged to stay all winter? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did it not occur to you or to I^ieutenant Garlington, so far as you 
know, after the wreck of the Proteus, that it would be advisable to go to 
Littleton Island, or Life-Boat Cove, or Pandora Harbor more especially, 
and wait there for a week or two in expectation of seeing the Yantic? — 
A. No, sir. 

Q. You were perfectly convinced that she could not or would not come 
through the ice of Melville Bay ? That if she did get through it would 
be by a fortunate chance ? — A. We argued that if she did get through she 
would meet us as we were going down the coast, one or the other of us, 
and if she got up to Pandora Harbor she would probably overtake us. 

Q. Do you know what was the probable reason she did not meet you ?— 
A. She was too far oflP the coast. 

Q. Too far to the westward ? — A. To the westward. 

Q. Do you recall Captain Wildes telling you that his instructions would 
not permit him to enter the pack-ice, or that he had instructions ? — A, 
No, sir ; I do not recall Captain Wildes telling me that. 

Q. So far as you know, in your opinion as a naval officer, was every- 
thing possible done by Lieutenant Garlington and his party to carry out 
the object of his instructions? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you approved of his course, after the wreck of the Proteus? — 
A. With the one exception of not letting me go with a boat at once to 
the southward. 

Q. You think it would have been better for you to have started at 
once from the scene of the wreck ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You were detached at Cape York ? — A. Yes, at Cape York. 

By the Court : 
Q. How many days in advance would that have given you? — A. I 
would have started from Cape Sabine on the 25th, and I expected I would 
be able to make Upernavik inside of a month. I could have made the 
Carey Islands in two days. 



72 PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. The water being open?-'— A. The water was open, A¥e knew from 
what we had seen coming up. It was perfectly open as far as the Carey 
Islands. 

Q. Do you know anything else that is material to assist this court in 
its inquiry ? You know the object of its investigation. — A. The Pro- 
teus was not as well equipped as she should have been. 

Q. Proceed to state how ? — A. Her boilers were old. It was the inten- 
tion, as stated to me by one of the officers of the ship, I think the chief 
engineer, to take the ship home that summer and have new boilers placed 
in her, but this contract was made and they concluded to repair the old ones 
and let her go north. Her equijDment of boats was very poor ; she had no 
seaworthy boats on board ; she had four boats. 

Q. And none of them were seaworthy ? — A. Two of them would float 
and two would not. One was put in the Avater, and in two days it had 
swelled up enough to float. It just filled up. Those two boats were 
stowed bottom up on the gallows frame on the ship, and standing under 
them you could see daylight through the seams of them. Of the other 
two boats, one was leaky; that was the long boat; and the smaller one 
of the two, the jolly boat, was not leaky, but it was very old and not a 
seaworthy boat. The equipment of these boats was very bad. The 
rigging of the ship was very old and untrustworthy. On the way up 
some new standing rigging was fitted. Her compasses were untrustworthy. 
The main reliance was placed on a liquid compass which was kept down 
in the captain's cabin. The captain had no idea of the local deviation of 
his compass, and stated to me one day that the ship had been swung once for 
local deviation in the nine years since she was built, which was in 1874. 
She had one patent log, which she lost by winding it around the propeller 
one day. She had none after that. 

By the Court : 

Q. How did she compare with the vessels that ordinarily navigate those 
seas ? — A. All the St. John sealers are old. The Proteus was one of the 
newest ; she was built in 1874. But, as I stated before, she was not what 
I considered a well-equipped ship. Everything about her was old. 

Q. But in chartering ships I suppose that was about as well as could 
have been done ? — A. In St. John's. Well, that was as well as they could 
have done there. 

Q. You think that the equipment, the sails, boats, &c., all might have 
been improved upon without any trouble ? — A. They could all have been 
placed in good condition before she went up. 

Q. How long would it have taken to do that ? — A. Two weeks' work 
on her rigging would have put her in good condition. 

Q. And how about her boats ? — A. She should have had new boats 
throughout, which could have been bought in any seaport town. 

Q. How about her boiler ? — A. I heard of no trouble from the boiler 
on the way up. The boiler could not have been put in in that time. It 
would have taken six months to have taken her to Dundee, as they would 
have had to do. 

Q. But you had no trouble with the boiler ? — A. I heard of none. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 73 

Q. If the ship Proteus had been inspected by a sea officer, for instance 
by a naval officer, what would have been his report upon her ? — A. If she 
had been thoroughly inspected his report ought to have been that she 
needed ncM^ rigging and new boats and a proper outfit of navigating in- 
struments. The officers I did not consider well fitted for their positions. 
The first mate was a young man, a son of the captain, about 21 or 22 
years of age, who never had been in the Arctic regions before. 

Q. A son of this captain ? — A. A son of the captain of the Proteus. 
The second mate was a cousin of the captain of the Proteus, and also a 
young man, rated as boatswain on the ship's books. This was the first 
time he had ever been an officer. He had been before the mast on the 
previous trip of the Proteus to Lady Franklin Bay. The chief engineer 
was making his first voyage in that capacity. He was assistant on the 
expedition before and was promoted on the discharge of the chief engineer 
when the charter party was made for the expedition. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Now as to the equipment of the expedition, how were the boats of 
Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. They were not as carefully fitted as they 
should have been. 

Q. Where were they procured ? — A. I understpod from the Brooklyn 
navy-yard. 

By the Court : 

Q. In what were they defective ? — A. In the fitting of the sails and 
masts, and in the fitting of the cleats and pins to belay sheets and hal- 
yards to. There were none of those on one of the boats, and the masts 
did not fit in either boat. Gear was wanting on the sails. The oar-locks 
fitted for the steering oars were placed too far forward to make the oars 
of any use. No tiller nor water breakers were with the boats. 

Q. As they came from the navy-yard to what do you attribute such 
deficiencies ? — A. I never have been on duty in a navy-yard and do not 
know what the responsibility is. 

Q. Or what inspections are made of material before it is issued ? — A. 
No, sir. 

Q. From your knowledge of the instructions to Captain Wildes not 
to put the Yantic in the ice, from your experience in going through the 
waters of Melville Bay, in your opinion what chance was there of the 
Yantic coming up to Littleton Island? — A. My idea was that the Yantic 
would not be able at all to come up directly, judging by the ice we had 
seen. I thought, however, she might follow the edge of the pack off to the 
westward and come up along the west coast; might cross Baffin's Bay to 
the southward and come along the west coast by the time we got to Cape 
York. The ice was apparently less close to the westward in Melville 
Bay than the track we had come. I thought that would delay her some 
time, and there was a bare chance of her getting through that way ; but I 
thought there was no chance of her coming through the way the Proteus 
did. 

Q. Although she did come through ? — A. She did come through about 
the same track the Proteus .made, leaving out of consideration the devia- 
tions; the Proteus was lost in the fog and made a very devious course. 

Q. In your mind was the probability of her coming through such as 



74 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

would have induced you to risk remaining at Littleton Island and waiting 
for her coming up ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Therefore you believed that the chances were so slight of her coming 
up at all that the best thing was to go down to the Danish settlement, 
hoping to meet her on the way up ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Just exactly as was done? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. That is, the general idea met your approval except that you had 
your own ideas about the way carrying it out ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Then why was the Yantic sent up there ? — A. I do not know. 

By the Recoeder : ' 

Q. To return a moment to the equipment of the expedition. Had you 
ice-hooks and ice-anchors in these small boats? 

The Witness. At the time of the wreck, or do you mean furnished 
with the boats? 

The Recorder. Had you them with you in the expedition? 

A. There were ordinary grapnels, as furnished to every naval boat, and 
ordinary anchors. 

Q. How about the ice-hooks ? — A. The grapnels would do. 

Q. Are those long poles with hooks on the end grapnels ? — A. A grap- 
nel is an anchor with six prongs. 

Q. I mean the long poles with hooks at the ends of them ? — A. They 
are the ordinary Navy boat-hooks. 

Q. Were your boats provided with water casks? — A. No, sir; I did 
not see any. 

Q. They were not kept in readiness for an emergency such as the 
wreck? — A. The only casks we had for our boat was one taken by Lieu- 
tenant Garlingtou from Captain Nares's depot at Carey Island, and that 
was filled and was lying on the deck when the ship was smashed ; it was 
afterward stove on the ice. 

Q. Now, about the Army party; how many of the thirteen men that 
left St. John's besides yourself and Lieutenant Garlingtou had any nauti- 
cal education? — A. I can only speak of the men in my boat; I did not 
know any of them had any, but after the wreck I knew there was one man 
who had spoken to me of having been in the Navy ; I knew he had served 
an enlistment in the Navy, as he told me. He was in Lieutenant Gar- 
lington's boat. 

Q,. As a seaman in the Navy ? — A. As an ordinary seaman. But in my 
boat there was one very excellent sailor, who was Corporal El well, and a 
St. John's man, who had been a fisherman and knew something about 
boats — was a good boatman. One other man could pull an oar, and 
knew something about handling sails. That was all in my boat. 

Q. How many had you in your boat ? — A. I had until I reached Cape 
York six men and Dr. Harrison. The doctor joined Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's boat at Cape York when we separated. 

Q,. You keeping the same crew ? — A. I keeping the same crew. 

By the Court : 
Q. Did Lieutenant Garlingtou and yourself have any consultations as 
to what would be the best course to pursue, either going up or after the 
wreck occurred on your way down ? — A. Going up we did not have any 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 75 

consultations as to the best course to pursue, but after the wreck we fre- 
quently talked over what the prospects were — what we ought to do. 

Q. And arrived at conclusions ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. And you think that under all the circumstances of the case you two 
gentlemen did the best that could be done? — A. According to our knowl- 
edge we did the best we could do. 

Q. There was no diiference of opinion between you as to coming down 
after the wreck ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Except as to the point at which you should separate? — A. Yes, sir. 

At this point (4 o'clock p. m.) the court adjourned until Monday at 11 
o'clock a. m. 



"WASHINGTOlSr, D. C, 
Monday, November 19, 1883 — 11 a, m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The proceedings of the previous day were read. The testi- 
mony of Lieutenant Caziarc and Captain Mills and Lieutenant Colwell 
was read in their presence. The record having been amended was ap- 
proved. 

Lieut. Louis V. Caziarc desired to make a correction in his answer 
to the third question on the 62d page of the record. Instead of saying 
that he was informed by General Hazen that a copy of Inclosure No. 4 
had been given to the Secretary of the Navy, he desired to say that he un- 
derstood from General Hazen that it had been given. Mr. Garlington 
desiring to know if Mr. Caziarc had looked in the records of the office to 
see if a telegram was received from General Hazen from Halifax in ref- 
erence to the naval tender during his absence last May and June, Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc replied as follows : 

I find that two telegrams were received on the 21st of May in the order 
in which I will read them; in answer to a message of the 20th of May, sent 
by Captain Powell to General Hazen,in which he informed him in substance 
that " the Secretary of the Navy will send a tender as you requested," he 
asked the question, " When will she be needed at St. John's and what will 
be the northern limit of the voyage ?" and asked him to outline the in- 
structions. To which General Hazen replied in a telegram received at 1.33 
p. m., May 21, dated 21st, Halifax : 

Tender to go to southern limits of pack-ice ; to leave St. John's about July 1. 

The other received at 1.54 p. m. same day, dated 21st, Halifax : 

WUl be back about June 2. Hold all instructions till I come. Tender to be at St. 
John's, say June 25. 

By Lieutenant Garlington : 
Q. In explaining your answer to the last clause of the memorandum 
marked 5 (also known as " inclosure 4), you stated that that clause was 
added to obviate an objection raised by myself as to the delay made there 
in landing stores. Was not the reference that I made in regard to the pos- 
sibility of the ships being frozen up in the ice north of Littleton Island, 
or the necessity of my having to winter somewhere north of Littleton 
Island ? — A. The objection certainly included those points. 



76 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Lieut. John C. Colwell then resumed the stand, and his examination 
was continued, as follows : 

By the Recoeder : 

Q. Did you advise Lieutenant Garlington to let you separate from his 
party with the whale boat, according to the ideas that you expressed in 
your testimony, from Cape Sabine? — A. I suggested to him that that was 
my idea. 

Q. He diifered with yon ? — A. He said nothing about it. He did not 
act on it. 

Q. Do you know what provisions the Proteus crew had or for what 
length of time they were provisioned ? — A. I was told by one of the offi- 
cers — I have forgotten who — that she had a year's provisions. 

Q. For her own crew ? — A. For her own crew. 

Q. What arms and ammunition had the party after the wreck, if you 
know ? — A. I had a Hotchkiss rifle, five hundred rounds of ammunition, 
a shot-gun, and thirty-six loaded cartridges. I afterwards found fifty 
more. My powder and shot and caps and loading tools I got out on the 
ice, but they disappeared. I never saw them again after seeing them 
thrown on the ice. I afterward recognized some of my powder cans among 
the effects of the Proteus people. Tliey were then empty. There were 
two Winchester rifles belonging to two members of Mr. Garlington 's party, 
and I think about five hundred rounds, or there may have been a thou- 
sand rounds, for these Winchester rifles. I had a navy revolver and fifty 
rounds of ammunition, and one of the men had an army revolver and I 
do not know how much ammunition. 

Q. That was all ?— A. That was all. 

Q. In view of the difficulty that you anticipated and that Lieutenant 
Garlington anticipated in the Yantic getting through Melville Bay, would 
it not have been Avise and prudent before parting company with her at 
Disko to have arranged several places of rendezvous, say for instance after 
Littleton Island, Northumberland Island, Carey Island, Cape York, and 
the Sabine Islands in Melville Bay, so that the Yantic would proceed 
to those in succession and leave a record of her progress and should re- 
turn to them, so that in case you did not find she had arrived at Littleton 
Island you would have proceeded* to Northumberland Island, and found 
whether she had arrived there, and so on throughout? — A. Such an 
arrangement was made. It was arranged that the Proteus should visit 
Carey Island, Hakluyt Island, and Pandora Harbor on the way up and 
leave records, and that the Yantic would also visit those places on the way 
up. The arrangement was not positive about visiting Hakluyt Island. 

Q. You refer to this agreement do you ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. It states : 

Cairns inclosing bottles or tins will be left at Cape York, S. E. Carey Island, or Hak- 
luyt Island, Pandora Harbor, and Littleton Island. 

A. That was the way I understood it. Hakluyt Island was under- 
stood to be a point to be visited in case we did not go to Carey Island. 

Q. But there was no arrangement that the Yantic should return to these 
places ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. So that they were not properly places of rendezvous ? — A. No, sir ; 
she was only to visit them on the way up. 

Q. You did not stop on Carey Island on your M'ay down did you ? — 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PKOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 77 

A. We did not on account of the weather being very threatening when 
we were at Cape Parry, and the boats were too heavily loaded to trust 
them out there with their inexperienced crews. 

Q. Did you look for any record at Carey Island? — A. We did not 
visit Carey Island. 

Q. Did you look for any record at Cape York? — A. Our idea in going 
to Cape York was that we would find some news from the Yantic; but 
we found none. 

Q. Did you look for Cairns ? — A. We more particularly questioned the 
natives whom we saw there if they had seen any ship, and they said they 
had not. 

Q,. But you could not ascertain definitely from them how long they had 
been there? — A. We ascertained definitely from them that no vessel had 
stopped at Cape York this year. 

Q. The Yantic did not touch at any of these points going up ? — A. She 
touched at Carey Island, and also at Pandora Harbor. 

Q. But if there had been an arrangement that she should certainly stop 
in the first instance at Sabine Island, Lower Melville Bay, and leave a 
record stating that she had passed there and would return on her way, and if 
a similar record had been left at Cape York, another at Carey Island, and 
another at Hakluyt Island, then you could have stopped at the most 
northerly point where you discovered this record and waited in security 
till she returned, could you not? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. The ice you met in Melville Bay was pack-ice, was it not? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q,, Did the bay seem to be full of it, or about what area of the bay ? — 
A. The bay seemed to be full ; the ice had not been broken out of the bight 
of the bay this year ; the track of the Proteus on the chart shows the 
edge of the fast ice jjretty closely. 

Q. Still clinging to the eastern shore of the bay ? — A. Yes, sir ; to the 
bight of the bay. 

Q. And to the left, how much ice was there ? — A. As far as we could 
see. 

Q. The middle pack ? — A. The middle pack. ^ 

Q. You know nothing of the western passage? — A. The western pas- 
sage I did not know anything of. 

Q. Now, from your observation there and from your reading of the 
works of Arctic explorers, do you not know that Melville Bay is habitu- 
ally full of ice and very much dreaded by all navigators in consequence, it 
being regarded as one of the most perilous parts of the route of Arctic 
travelers ? — A. It is so regarded, but exceptional voyages have been made 
across Melville Bay when no ice has been seen. 

By the Couet : 
Q. If you had started as you had suggested from Cape Sabine on the 
25th, how many days in advance would you have been to the party 
going to Littleton Island before going south ? — A. From what I now 
know of the condition of the ice in Melville Bay about ten days after 
the 25th, I could have made Upernavik in two weeks after leaving Cape 
Sabine. But at that time I had in view the ice that we had met in Mel- 
ville Bay; that it was pack-ice for about one hundred and fifty miles ; 
that I would have to work through that, and it would take me about a 



78 PEOCEEDINGS OP PKOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

month to make Upernavik. I thought I could make it inside of a month, 
possibly twenty days. 

Q. How many days earlier than you did make it could you have made 
it? — A. Two weeks. 

Q. You would have gained two weeks by the operation? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. As things actually turned out, would it have made any difference in 
the result ; that is, would you have met the Yantic on the way, as you 
anticipated, at Upernavik? — A. I would have had a chance of meeting the 
Yantic in Melville Bay on her way up to Carey Island. If I had not met her 
on the way up I would have been in Upernavik when she first returned 
there on the 11th or 12th of August. 

Q. As it actually turned out, if your plan had been adopted by Lieu- 
tenant Garlington and he had allowed you to go ahead, you would have 
met the Yantic long before she reached Littleton Island? — A. I would 
have met her certainly by the 12th of August, the date she returned to 
Upernavik. 

Q. That is, you would not have met her until after she came back ? — 
A. I would have stood the chance of meeting her as she crossed Melville 
Bay, as I intended to make the track directly across the bay. 

Q. Then the idea was if you met her to bring her back to Littleton 
Island ? — A. To bring her back to Lieutenant Garlington and his party, 
and Lieutenant Garlington could make his arrangements with Com- 
mander Wildes for carrying out his plans. 

Q. But with the information that you had at the time I suppose you 
considered that even then there was a bare chance of meeting the Yantic 
or of perfecting anything? — A. I expected to meet her at Upernavik. I 
thought that she had met the ice and returned to Upernavik, and I ex- 
pected to find her waiting there. 

By Lieutenant Garlington : 

Q. I wish to ask you a question in reference to those cairns. Are the Sa- 
bine Islands situated on the route usually followed across Melville Bay at 
that season of the year ? — A. No. 

Q. Would there have been any practical use of leaving records on 
Hakluyt Island, Northumberland Island, or any of those islands north of 
Gary Island and between that point and Pandora Harbor, from your 
knowledge of the conditions of that part of Baffin's Bay ? — A. I think it 
would have been a good idea for the Yantic to have left records at North- 
umberland Island. 

Q,. On the way up ? — A. On the way up. 

Q. Did the Yantic visit Northumberland Island on the way up, to the 
best of your recollection ? — A. She did not. 

Commander Frank Wildes, of the United States Navy, being present 
was requested by the recorder to take the stand and be sworn. 

Commander Wildes. Before taking the oath I would like to ask a 
question. In what capacity do I appear before the court ? Is it to have 
my acts as commander of the naval portion of the expedition inquired into 
by the court, or simply as a witness to testify as to what I know regard- 
ing the acts of others ? 

The court at this point directed the room to be cleared for purposes of 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 79 

consultation. After a few minutes spent therein, the doors were reopened 
and the court resumed its proceedings, as follows : 

The Recordee : 

Commander Wildes, the court directs me to inform you that this court 
has been convened by the President of the United States and directed to 
investigate the circumstances attending the failure of the relief expedition 
of 1883, and you are summoned as a witness and appear as a witness be- 
fore the court to answer any questions that may be put to you, and that' you 
have the same privilege that any other witness has of declining to answer 
any question that may tend to criminate you. 

Commander Wildes. In that case I will take the oath, sir. 

Commander Frank Wildes, of the United States Navy, being then 
duly sworn as a witness, was examined as follows : 

By the Recorder : 

Question. You are a commander in the United States Navy? — Answer. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. And were in command of the United States steamship Yantic in her 
expedition to Smith's Sound or to Baffin's Bay last summer ? — A. I was. 

(The witness was here shown the paper furnished as a certified copy of 
the instructions of the commander of the Yantic by the Secretary of the 
Navy.) 

Q. These were your instructions, were they not? — A. That is a correct 
copy of my instructions. 

Q. Now, to save time and avoid the necessity of asking for a narrative 
of the operations of your ship and a history of the expedition, I will ask 
you if your reports of September 11 and October 13, made to the Navy 
Department, embrace a correct history of the expedition? — A. They do. 

Q. So far as you were personally cognizant of the facts ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Will you please to state whether you were furnished with a copy of 
the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington of the Army ? — A. I was. 

Q. And with the memorandum made by Lieutenant Greely respecting 
the measures to be taken for his rescue ? — A. I was. 

Q. Your instructions state : 

Inclosed herewith for your information are copies of a letter from Lieutenant Greely 
to the Chief Signal Officer, written after the arrival of the former at Fort Conger : ' ' Work 
of the Signal Service in the Arctic regions ; ' ' track chart of the Steamer Neptune 
from July to September, 1882 ; instructions to Lieutenant Greely ; and instructions to 
Lieutenant Garlington, U. S. A. , commanding relief vessel to Lady Franklin Bay. 

An examination of these papers will acquaint you with the object of the relief expe- 
dition and the importance of its suecess. You will, therefore, when in all respects in 
readiness for sea, proceed with the vessel under your command to St. John's, N. F. 

After having filled up with coal at St. John's, proceed to the northward through 
Davis Straits in company with the steamer Proteus if practicable; but before leaving, 
that port you will confer with Lieutenant Garlington, and make arrangements which 
will enable you to act advantageously in the event of an early separation from the Pro- 
teus, which ship, being fitted for cruising in the ice, will probably take advantage of 
opportunities to reach her destination which you would not feel authorized in taking in 
the Yantic. 

Will you state what conference you had with Lieutenant Garlington in 
reference to that matter, or what conferences generally you had with him ? — 
A. Various conferences on the way from New York to St. John's. We 
consulted together nearly every day, talking about the expedition and 
what could be done, and on the basis of that this agreement was drawn up^ 



80 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. The agreement that is published in the Signal Service Notes as an 
agreement between Lieutenant Garlington and yourself? — A. The same 
one. 

Q. Signal Service Notes No. 10. You have seen it? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was that the only agreement made in reference to the movements 
of the vessels ? — A. The only one. 

Q. Did Lieutenant Garlington express any desire to have any more 
minute arrangement ? — A. I do not remember of any such desire. 

Q,. Do you remember that you desired any other arrangement? — A. I 
desired no other. 

Q. Your instructions proceed : 

In view of the possibility of the destruction of the Proteus it is desirable that you 
should proceed as far north as practicable, in order to afford succor to her officers and 
men in the event of such an accident, and it is desired that you should await there the 
return of that ship or the arrival of authentic information as to her fate. Under no cir- 
cumstances, however, will you proceed beyond Littleton Island, Smith's Sound, and 
you are not to enter the ice-pack nor to place your ship in a position to prevent your 
return this season. 

How did you understand that clause in your instructions ? 
The Witness. Which clause? 
The Recorder. This : 

Under no circumstances, however, will you proceed beyond Littleton Island, Smith's 
Sound, and you are not to enter the ice-pack nor to place your ship in a position to pre- 
vent your return this season. 

A. I understood just what is said there. 

Q. Will you be good enough to explain to the court the full meaning 
of the term '^ ice-pack," which is a technical term ? — A. The ice-pack is 
generally pieces of ice broken up, crushed together, piled up. It is gen- 
erally pieces of more or less size, some large, some small, crushed in on 
top of each other, thus making a very rough, heavy, confused pack. 

Q. Floating together ? — A. All together. Sometimes it may be more or 
less open ; with strong winds it closes up tight ; with light winds it opens 
out. 

Q. Are not such packs constantly met with in Melville Bay? — A. 
They are. 

Q. It is the history of navigation of those waters that those packs are 
to be expected there ? — A. They nearly always have been met there. There 
is a choice of passages across Melville Bay — the northern, middle, and 
southern passages, depending on the state of the winds. 

Q. But none of them can be counted upon with any certainty to be free 
from ice? — A. No, sir; you cannot count on crossing Melville Bay until 
you get across. 

Q. The nature of your instructions then rendered it very problematic 
whether you could reach Littleton Island ? — A. It did ; problematic in 
any case, with any instruction. 

Q. Where did you first learn of the disaster of the Proteus? — A. At 
Littleton Island. 

Q. From a record deposited in a cairn ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. You state in your report : 

The body of water known as Melville Bay is so little understood generally that a short 
description may not be out of place here. 

From Cape Shackleton, which may be regarded as the southern point, the coast trends 
northerly 150 miles to Cape "Walker, thence westerly 150 miles to Cape Dudley Diggs. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 81 

The coast-line is one vast glacier, the rocky headlands only projecting, wliicli coustiiutly 
discharges multitndes of icebergs, many of enornions size. These drifting to the west- 
ward and gronnding in the shoal water south of Cape York frequently hang up for a 
whole season the vast tields of ice which accumulate during the winter. When not so 
hung by bergs, the main or middle pack, which is out of the influence of the current 
from Smith's Sound to Davis Straits, drifts back and forth with the prevailing winds, 
at times leaving open water between it and the fast ice, and again closing. 

The North Star was caught in August, 1849, and luckily broke out after "hairbreadth 
escapes ' ' on the 25th of September and succeeded in getting into Wolstenholm Sound 
where she wintered. The first Grinnell expedition in 1855 was caught in the pack early 
in Jul}' and not released until August 15. In 1857 the Fox tvas caught south of Cape 
York and drifted all winter in the pack. In 1875 the Alert and Discovery met the pack 
just outside the Brown Islands near Upernavik and were thirty-four hours forcing their 
^vay through. On the 22nd of July, 1876, the Pandora was beset for eight days in the 
pack and only succeeded by great exertions in freeing herself, having been in imminent 
danger of being crushed. Many whale ships have been lost in this bay. During one 
year the governor of Uj)ernavik states that he had two hundred men thrown on his 
bounty, whose ships had been crushed in the ice. (See proceeding's United States Naval 
Institute, December 11, 1873.) 

That iuformation is obtained from the exploratious of Arctic voyagers? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And believed by you to be correct ? — A, Yes, sir. 

Q. In vie\y of that would you have felt justified in entering a lead in 
the pack ? — A. That would depend very much upon what kind of a lead 
it was ; the appearance of the ice would make a great difference — whether 
it was floe-ice or loose pack, or whether I could see my way through ; 
whether I could see clear water on the other side or a water sky on the 
other side ; it would also depend on the weather. 

^l. Upon your learning of the loss of the Proteus did any question oc- 
cur to you of the propriety of landing stores from your own ship and 
making a depot of provisions there for the use of the Greely party? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. What was your view on the subject at the time? 

The Witness. I decline to answer that, sir. 

The Recorder. 1 )o you decline on the ground of it tending to crimi- 
nate you ? 

The Witness. To criminate! No, sir. 

The Recorder. That is the only ground upon which a witness can de- 
cline. Perhaps I might ask you if you regarded your instructions and 
the duty to which you were assigned as authorizing you to contribute your 
stores and provisions? 

The Witness. I will answer that, sir. I did. 

Q. In your conferences with Lieutenant Garlington was any request 
ma<le by him for you to contribute stores or provisions for the use either 
of his party or the crew of the Proteus or for the use of the party under 
the command of Lieutenant Greely ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Was the matter discussed at all ? — A. No, sir. 

The Recorder. You prefer not to state your reasons for not adopting 
that course, do you? 

The Witness. Suppose you ask the question again. 

Q. Upon learning of the wreck of the Proteus while you were at Lit- 
tleton Island, did you take into consideration the advisability of making a 
depot of provisions and stores ? 

The Witness. I think I answered tiiat. . . 

The Recorder. I ask you for your reasons. 
S. Ex. 100 6 



82 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COT'RT OF INQUIRY. 

The Witness. My reasons for what, sir? 

The liEOOEDER. For not landing stores or provisions at Life-Boat 
Cove or Littleton Island. 

The Witness. Those reasons I have given in my letter to the Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and I think that is before the court as testimony. That 
is a plain answer to the question. That question was asked by the Sec- 
retary of the Navy and was answered by me in my letter. 

The Recorder. In your letter of October 16? 

The Witness. The last letter I wrote. I do not remember the date. 

The Recorder. Will you be good enough to refer the court to it. 
[Submitting a paper.] 

The Witness. It c<^nimeuces there. [Indicating.] 

The portion indicated by the witness of his report of October 16, 1883, 
is as follows : 

I sailed from New York, haviug a ship's company of one hundred and twenty-four en- 
listed men and twenty officers, with eight months' provisions for eighty men on board; 
everj"^ available space was utilized for their stowage. On our passage northward the 
usual ration was Ibund insufficient and one hundred and twenty rations were issued. 
On learning of the loss of tlie Proteus, I considered that my first and paramount duty 
was to pick up tire boats, which contained thirty-seven men. Having done that it would 
be time to consider what next. I had no doubt that I should do this and hoped to find 
them at the Carey Islands, or, failing there, somewhere between Cape Parry and Cape 
Athol. Should they ha^e reached and entered the ice of Melville Bay I thought it 
impossible to tell when they would, appear. Dr. Kane took eighty days to go over the 
same ground. This would necessitate my remaining very late in the season, as it was 
quite out of the question to return home without them. But the pack prevented my 
reaching Cape Athol, and having worked through, on August 9, various fi-uitless attempt.? 
were made to force an opening between Cape Dudley Diggs and Cape Y^'ork. On the 10th 
heavy pack appeared to the southwest; the wind was northeast and the ice mo^ang off- 
shore down on us; there was ice behind us preventing our return northward. I had na 
alternative but to proceed to Upernavik. 

In taking these steps I was governed by what I have previously stated in regard to the 
possibilities of Melville Bay and the probabilities of our being beset in the pack. Once 
involved in ice, I knew we would be helpless and our imprisonment of indefinite dura- 
tion. I had no fears for Lieutenant Greely, who, living in a region reported well stocked 
with game, had economized his provisions. Should he reach Littleton Island, besides 
the provisions on the west coast the rocks and waters between that island and the main- 
land abound in walrus, the stench from their ordure fouling the air for a long distance. 
On the neighboring mainland reindeer are reported numerous. On the S. E. Carey 
Island there is a cache of six months' pro^dsions for twenty men, known to Lieutenant 
Greely, who landed there. They would have to live Eskimo fashion, but Dr. Kane and 
Lieutenant Schwatka did that. 

The Witness. That covers the question, I think, sir. 

Q. Had you any equipment for Arctic navigation or for service in the 
Arctic regions ? 

The Witness. Equipment for the ship or crew ? 

The Recorder. For the ship and the crew both. 

A. The ship had a sheathing of oak plank extending from her water- 
line to about 7 feet below. The oak plank w^as about 2^ inches thick, be- 
ing a little thicker about the cut-water. That is all the protection she had. 
She had no more equipment for officers and crew for that region than she 
had to go to the West Indies. 

Q. You regard her as entirely unfitted for a winter in the Arctic re- 
gions? — -A. Entirely. 

Q. Do you consider that your delay at Upernavik on your passage 
north materially affected the course of events to the prejudice of the ob- 
jects of the expedition ? — A. I do not. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 83 

Q. Are the causes of that delay fully stated in these reports ? — A. They 
are. 

Q. And you do uot desire to add anything on that subject? — A. I do 
not think it necessary to add anything, sir; that is, I do not think it nec- 
essary to add anything for a professional man to judge of, a man who is 
acquainted with ships or the sea or the difficulties of navigation in that 
region; but to any other person an explanation might possibly be neces- 
sary. 

Q. Perhaps it would assist the investigations of this court, as it is not 
composed of professional seamen, for you to state more fully. — A. I de- 
layed in Upernavik three and a half days, there being a dense fog all the 
time. Outside of Upernavik there are about ten miles of islands, shoals 
and sunken rocks, uusurveyed, unknowm, floating icebergs, too. In that 
latitude you cannot depend on your compasses. If you get out and are 
caught in a fog you must run your chances. Once out you have got to 
take your chances. If you are in a secure place it is far better to remain 
until you have a good chance to get out where you can see your way. It 
was necessary for me to be very cautious in handling my ship, having a large 
crew and not being an especially strong ship. The Pandora was caught by 
fog in that very situation and narrowly escaped destruction. The Alert, 
Captain Nares' ship, was also caught and ran aground and laid over one 
tide on the rocks. I could not have laid over a tide on the rocks without 
bilging. 

Q. What was your object in visiting Upernavik ? — A. To obtain infor- 
mation as to what the weather had been during the past season, and also 
what kind of a winter they had had ; what knowledge they had of ice forma- 
tion or ice raoveme'nt there and any other information that I could obtain. 

Q. In one of your reports I observe that you speak of the happy-go- 
lucky manner in which the Proteus was navigated. Will you please ex- 
plain that to the court ? — A. Lieutenant Col well can tell that better than 
I can ; I had my information from him ; I can repeat what was told me. 

Q,. There is no objection to your doing so in an investigation of this 
kind. — A. Captain Pike was not a good navigator. He never could tell 
whether his sights w^ere right or wrong. He ran his ship ashore twice 
when there was no necessity for it. I refer to his navigation. 

Q. That has been explained to the court by Mr. Garlington and to 
some extent by Lieutenant Colwell. Do you know anything about the 
seaworthiness of the Proteus ? — A. Only in a general way. I did not 
give her a thorough examination. 

Q. State from your own observation. — A. From my own observation I 
should say that she was a very strong ship. The hull was strong. As to- 
the condition of her boilers and engines and equipment generally I could 
not say. Her boats I know were very poor. The boats I saw were not 
suitable at all to carry north, and speaking of her equipment you might 
count the crew in as a part thereof. 

Q. What class of men were they ? — A. They were apparently a very 
poor lot of men — to look at. 

Q,. What did you observe, if anything, with reference to the equipment 
of the expedition under the command of Lieutenant Garlington — its sea- 
going equipment, boats, &c. ? — A. I did not examine his boats. I_^only 



84 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 

know by liearsay what their condition amis. If yon connt his men as his 
eqnipmeut, too, I believe his men were not sailors. They knew nothing 
abont a boat. 

Q, You know the object of this investigation; it is one of interest to the 
Government, Can yon give the conrt any fnrther information to assist 
it ; do you know anything else material to the inquiry as to the cause of 
the failure of the expedition ? — A, I can give one cause of the failure, I 
think, and that is, a great and important enterprise was undertaken with 
very insufficient and scanty means. That is one reason. 

Q, Can you not state your meaning more fully under that head ? — A, It 
is known how imj^oi'tant the enterprise is. Two ships were sent north 
very unlike each other in their powers. One was a reserve ship to the 
other. The leading ship, the ship vrhich was to do the work, was a for- 
eign ship, officei'ed and manned by a British crew, flying the British flag — 
a crew picked up anywhere, composed of what are called "beachcombers," 
"'longshoremen," not seamen, the expedition going up as passengers, sep- 
arate from the ship which carried them, composed of a different branch of 
the service, on a duty which required men to be able to live on the water, 
on the land, and on the ice, and a supporting ship sent out not suitable 
to go North with her large crew — too few provisions, unprotected, 
unfitted for ice encounters, liable to be caught in the ice and meet 
with a disaster much more grave than happened this summer. When 
the Navy Department thought it proper to send an expedition north 
to search for the Jeannette they convened a board of high officers, who 
sat for weeks studying and determining the equipment down to the 
minutest detail that should be fitted to this ship ; what they were to do, 
where they were to go, what men were to go in her ; and then, in spite of 
that, she was lost, though she did very well as far as she went. In this 
case I do not know of anything of the kind having been done. There 
was a large quantity of experience to refer to — the records of other Arctic 
expeditions of late years. I do not know that any reference was made to 
that, anything drawn from their experience ; I have heard of nothing of 
that kind, so far as I know myself. That is the reason I said it was a 
great and important expedition undertaken \vith very limited means. 

By the Court : 

Q. Was this your first experience in the Polar seas ? — A, Yes, sir. 

Q, Then all your knowledge of the difficulties to be encountered in 
your sailing north was gathered I suppose from your reading? — A, From 
reading it since boyhood, from what I saw this summer, and from talking 
with people there. 

Q, Of course, in your instructions, you must have understood the object 
of sending the Yantic as a tender to the Proteus — that there must be some 
object in view. What was your understanding of it? — A, Just what is 
stated in my orders; but I did not confine myself to them; I understood 
that I was to go beyond those orders ; not to cover myself by the actual 
wording of the orders ; I understood the object of the expedition. 

Q. What I want to know, if I can get at it, is this: The instructions 
were that the Yantic should accompany the Proteus, Now, I am no sailor 
and do not want to be. My understanding of that would be that the two 
ships would keep near together. By that I mean a few hours apart proba- 



TKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEU.S COURT OF INQinRY. 85 

bly; that they would meet every day in the morning, separate through the 
day, and probably come together again. My understanding would be 
that that was intended by the iustj'uctions. I can understand, also, that 
there was no absolute necessity of the two vessels keeping together in 
that way on their way from St. John's to Disko, because I suppose that 
is plain sailing; but beyond that what was your understanding of your 
instructions when the two vessels left Uperuavik in order to carry out 
that instruction that the Yantic should accompany the Proteus ; what 
did you understand by that, taking the whole tenor of the order? Did 
you understand that yoa could under that instruction delay as you did 
several days after the Proteus left, or that you ought to start with her so 
as to be near her in case of accident ? — A. I understood that I ought to 
start with her in case I could start. But I could not. It was necessary 
for me to remain there ; otherwise I would have gone out when she did. 

Q. What was the condition of your ship when you got to Upernavik or 
Disko or in that vicinity ; how were your boilers? — A. Bad. 

Q,. They had to be repaired there before you could go any farther ? — 
A. They had. 

Q. You had not coal enough to start from there with, considering the 
possibilities of the future? — A. It was necessary for me to have all the 
coal I could get, because we burn a great deal of coal, and not being able 
to tell wdiat was going to happen up there I considered it necessary to 
take in all the coal I could get, and I did it. 

Q. As you went from St. John's to Upernavik sailing, why was it you 
did not take all your coal before you started from St. John's so as not to 
be bothered on the way ? — A. We were using coal all the time going up. 
We had to condense our own water. We used a ton a day upon that. Then 
we used coal to put the ship under steam going out of St. John's, and I 
kept her under steam twenty-four hours because I had instructions 
from the Navy Department to make certain observations. Alto- 
gether I used twenty-iive or thirty tons of coal. Then, again, when 
we left St. John's our bunkers were full and our decks were 
nearly full ; I think we had seventy-five tons of coal on deck ; the Yantic 
is a small ship with a deep waist, and seventy tons is a heavy load with 
rough weather; as it was we met a gale off Cape Farewell, very heavy 
seas, and in case the wind, as it did before twice, had shifted to the north- 
west I would have had to throw all my deck -load of coal overboard, other- 
wise we would have been swamped. After getting into the narrow waters 
of Baffin's Bay I felt pretty safe in filling my shij^ with as much as she 
could carry. 

Q. Then when you left St. John's you carried all the coal it was safe 
to carry ? — A. All I dared to carry. 

Q. And if it were necessary to carry more you could fill up on the 
way and that would take some time? — A. Yes, sir. Then I had to go to 
various places to get it and finally had to dig it out of the ground there. 

Q. With your own men ? — A. With my own men. 

Q. When you left St. John's had you any idea that you would be able 
to get up to Littleton Island ? — A. I thought it hardly probable, but I 
meant to make a trial of it. 

Q,. In your opinion, from all the information that you had upon the 



86 PROCEEDfNGS OF PROTEUS 'COURT OF INQUIRY. 

subject, not having been up there before, did you think the chances were 
unfavorable to your getting up there ? — A. Very much in favor of my not 
getting up. 

Q. And that was the idea, as I understand from others, that prevailed 
among the officers of your ship? — A. I will not undertake to say in the 
way of testimony what they thought. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. That was the idea you communicated to Lieutenant Gai'lington — 
that the chances were very much against your getting to Littleton Island, 
was it not? — A. Possibly I may have done so. I cannot recall any in- 
stance of it now, though. 

By the Court : 

Q. A'\'^hat was the necessity of Lieutenant Garlington leaving you at 
Upernavik two or three days before you Mere ready to go up ? — A. He 
did not go to L^pernavik. 

Q. I mean leaving Disko and going to Littleton Island. Was there 
any absolute necessity of his doing that beyond the necessity in such a case 
of going ahead whenever you can ? — A. He acted under his instructions. 

Q. The instructions to you, and certainly the instructions to Lieutenant 
Garlington, were that the ships sliould accompany each other. Now we 
get to a certain point in the route and one of the ships leaves the other 
behind three days. I want to ascertain the causes that led to that action. 
Lieutenant Garlington from his testimony, as I remember it, says that his 
instructions were that he should go ahead without allowing anything to 
delay him on the way ; that he must take advantage of the best weather 
and leads and everything else as a matter of course. But I want to know, 
if I can get at it, why the two ships did not keep together when they left 
there. It would have been a delay of only two or three days. — A. I told 
you why the Yantic could not leave. 

Q. Yes, I understand that; but why could not the Proteus have re- 
mained ? — A. That is a question for Lieutenant Garlington to answer. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did you urge or advise him to remain? — A. No, sir; I did not. 
By the Court : 

Q. Did you consider that the Yantic was a proper ship to have been 
sent upon that work in order to do the work that was expected of the 
ship ; that is, to go to Littleton Island ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. In your opinion was the loss of the Proteus due in any degree to 
the inadequate manner in which the expedition was manned and equipped, 
as you have explained those terms ? — A, I think it was, to this extent : 
that with another man in command of the Proteus, a man who knew what 
ice was, a better man in every way, the Proteus would not have gone in 
there as she did. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You think she was too recklessly pushed? — A. I think lie did not 
know what he was about. 

By the Court: 
Q. In what way? — A. Captain Pike, as I understand, made no exam- 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIkY. 87 

inatiou of the ice himself; he never went ak>ft, but trusted to his son and 
his boatswain — both young and inexperienced men ; he was supposed to 
furnish all the ice knowledge and seamanship and everything necessary to 
the expedition ; he furnished none of tliose that I am aware of. 

Q. You had no dihieulty in your way finally in getting fromUpernavik 
to Littleton Island ? — A. We met the pack, a very heavy pack — that is, 
a great quantity of it, not particularly heavy ice — on the northern side 
of Melville Bay. We went through a number of loose streams of ice, some 
of it quite heavy, that struck us pretty hard, and a portion of the time, 
for about six hours, M'here there seemed to be a greater quantity of ice, 
the fog ^vas very thick ; sometimes it would lift so that we could see a 
. quarter of a mile, and at other times it would shut down so that we could 
not see beyoud the ship's flying jibbuom. When it raised we could see the 
ice still streaming away to the southwest, and I thought then and think now 
that we were in about the only open ^vater that there was there. The 
southerly ^^inds I believe had not only packed the ice up in the northern side 
of Melville Bay, but it kept the ice coming out of Lancaster Bay from going 
south and drifted that north. I think the northern part of Melville Bay 
was full of it, and on the 10th of August I never could see more than a 
mile or two. It was quite as heavy as the Smith's Sound ice. 

Q. How did your ship behave ? Did you feel that you were in any 
danger while working through the pack? — A. There was danger of the 
fog shutting down thick and of finding ourselves embayed in the ice, the 
shifting of the wind bringing it down behind, or ahead, or in any direc- 
tion. I could not tell where it was coming, dnd I was, I thought, running 
a great risk in doing what I did, but I thought I would try it. 

Q,. That is, you thought so on account of the vessel you were in ? — A. 
On account of the vessel. 

Q. She was not an ice-boat? — A. She could not do anything in the ice. 
If you get caught in the ice and if you can keep moving ahead it is well 
and good. If you are stopped you have to back and ram and beat your 
way through, I could not back with the Yantic through the ice. If I 
had backed I might have lost my rudder and rudder post, and the screw 
being of composition metal might have been so twisted as to be disabled. 
I did not want to get into any predicament of that kind, if I could help it, 
and I was very much relieved when it cleared away so I could see where 
I was. By that time I had got into open water. 

Q. What preparations were actually made for the cruise in regard to 
the vessel itself; that is, in preparing the vessel for the cruise up north? 
What additions or improvements were made to the vessel itself in order to 
prepare it for that work with the exception of the sheathing that you have 
spoken of heretofore ? — A. Her battery was taken off and her ammunition 
removed in order to give more room to stow coal to let her carry this addi- 
tional weight. 

Q. What was the use of having a crew of one hundred and twenty-six 
men ? — A. That was our customary ci"ew ; it was not necessary to carry 
so many men north. 

By the Recoeder : 
Q. How many men would have been sufficient to man the ship ? — A. 
She should have been prepared in a little different way. Having so many 



88 PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

men ihey do not use the most convenient way of rigging the ship as in the 
case of merchant vessels. Patent blocks and more apparatus would have 
been required to enable her to be handled by a smaller number of men. 
Fifty men probably would have been a good enough crew for her prepared 
in that way. 

By the C'oukt : 

Q. As it was, you brought back to St. John's quite a large quantity of 
provisions, did you not ? — A. A fair quantity ; yes, sir. 

Q. As far as you remember, how many days' provisions did you bring 
back to St. John's ? — A. I have not reckoned ap to see how much it was. 

Q. Did you at any time state to .Lieutenant Garlington what your in- 
structions Avere? — A. I do not remember that I did. 

Q. You were furnished with a copy of his instructions'? — A. I was. 

Q. But he was not furnished with a copy of yours? — A. That I do not 
know. 

Q. He was not furnished with a copy of them by you ? — X. No, sir. 

Q. Nor did he see your co])y ? — A, No, sir ; he did not see my copy. 
He could have seen it though at any time if he had chosen to ask for it. 
There w^as no secret about my instructions. 

Q. Did you have in your instructions a copy of what is known here as 
the memorandum " Inclosure 4?" — A. No, sir. 

Q,. You know what that is, I suppose? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. In those conferences of which you speak, with Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, was there any diversity of opinion; did he ask for anything that you 
felt obliged to decline to grant as to the movements of the vessels? — A. 
I do not recall any such occurrence. 

Q. AVould it not probably have contributed to the chances of success 
if you and Lieutenant Garlington had fixed upon more places of rendez- 
vous between L^pernavik and Littleton Island ; that is to say, for in- 
stance, suppose it had been arranged that he should look for a record of 
your movements at Littleton Island or Pandora Harbor and then again 
at Northumberland Island — I merely mention that as an example — and 
then again at Carey Island or Cape York, so that upon going to one of 
the most northerly station and not finding you he would go to the next 
and there discover when you had been there and when you would return, 
&c,, so that at each of these places he would expect you to stop and re- 
turn ? Would not some such arrangement as that have been prudent and 
wise ? 

The ^VIT:^^ESS. Do you mean on the way north ? 

The Recorder. Yes ; that such an arrangement should be made before 
leaviuii: Disko? — A. Yes, sir; I have no doubt that some such arrange- 
ment as that might have been made. 

By the Court : 
Q. Do you think that the chances — not speaking of your after know- 
ledge, but the knowledge you had then or the knowledge which the 
Proteus portion of the expedition had acquired on their way up — were 
sufficient to lead them to doubt the practicability of the A^antic reaching 
Littleton Island so as to justify them in leaving that island without waiting 
at least a few days for her arrival ? — -A. I do. 



PROCKEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 89 

Q, That is, the party could not place any dependence upon your being 
able to get up there '? — A. None whatever, sir. 

Q. I believe the intention was to have the Yantic at Littleton Island 
as the base of the supplies for the Proteus as she went farther north, and, as 
the Yantic had but one chance in a great many of getting up there at all, 
what was the use of sending the Yantic on the expedition ? — A. She had 
that chance if she got up there. She brought the party back. She made 
all the efforts she could to pick them up, but on accomit of her inefficient 
equipment she could not go into the ice. If I had had a strong ship, a ship 
as strong as the Proteus, I could have gone in there and picked them up 
without any doubt. There is another point, also. The presence of the 
Yantic there ]io doubt contributed, so I have understood, to preserving the 
morale amongst them ; that is, that Pike's party did not get the upper hand. 
They thought it probable they might be brought to account. They knew the 
Yantic was on the coast and that sooner or later they would meet her, and 
I have understood that that alone quite probably kept them from violent 
measures. 

Q. Besides your written instructions you had no verbal instructions or 
any ordinary conversations with superior authority in regard to what you 
had to do? — A. No, sir; I received my orders three days before I sailed. 
I did not know where the sliip was going until then except through the 
newspapers. 

Q. Where had your ship been cruising just before that? — A. In the 
West Indies.* 

By the Recorder : , 

Q. You had no other duty, then, than such as you were directed by these 

instructions to perform? — A. Nothing that would interfere with those 

instructions at all ; I did have some other duty, but nothing that would 

interfere w-ith carrying those out. 

Q. You had some other duty ? — A. Observations, simply ; not duty for 

the ship, but compass observations. 

Q. Scientific observations ? — A. Yes, sir. 

By Lieutenant Garlingtox : 
Q. I will ask you whether or not you intended t(^ include me in tlie 
answer you gave that no study of the experience of others had been given 
to this subject ? — A. I meant by the authors of the exjjedition ; those who 
fitted it out. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You did not refer at- all to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. No, sir; 
I did not have him in my mind at all. 

The court althis point (3 o'clock p. m.) adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. 
to-morrow. 



90 PROCEEDINGS OF PK0TEU8 COURT OF INQUIRY. 

^^'ASHI^'GTO^■, I). C, 
Noveiiiher 20, 1883 — 11 o'clock a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjoiirnmeut. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of the proceedings of the previous day was read. 
The testimony of Lieutenant Cohvell and Commander AVildes being read 
in their presence, and the record being corrected, was approved. 

Commander Frank Wildes then resumed the stand. 
The Witness. I desire to make an addition to my answer to a ques- 
tion on page 83 of the record. The question Avas: 

Q. What was your olyeet in \isiting UperuaAik ? — A. To obtain information as to 
what the weather had been during the past season and also what kind of a winter they 
had had; what knowledge they had of ice formation or ice movement there and any other 
information that I could obtain. 

To that I wish to add : 

This would influence me in my choice of routes across Melville Bay. 

Then on the last page the question is asked : 

Q. Besides your written instructions, you had no verbal instructions or any ordinary 
conversations with superior authority in regard to what you had to do ? — A. No, sir ; I 
received my orders three days before I sailed. I did not know where the ship was go- 
ing until then, except through the newspapers. 

I would like to correct that, so as to read : 

I did not know that the ship was to go north of Upemavik until then, except through 
the newspapers. 

By the Rbcordee : 

Q. I want to ask you as to the ordinary range of these sealers from St. 
John's. What geographical limits are they accustomed to keep within 
when going out sealing? — A. They usually keep south of Davis Straits, 
This past summer one of them went after a kind of seal which they call 
the bladder nose, on the east side of Greenland. I asked the mate if they 
went into the ice, and his reply was "no, we were too far from home." 
Whether that ^v'as the true reason or not I cannot say. Probably hisship 
Avas weak and they did not care to put her in the ice. 

Q. You were too late to see the sealers at St. John's, were you not? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. \o\\ are not therefore able to inform the court how the Proteus com- 
pared in strength and build with other sealers generally. — A. I could not 
state in a positive way about that. I talked with people about it, of course. 

The Recordee. [To the court.] General Hazen wishes to ask a few 
questions. 

The Witness. Is it permissible for any persons outside of the court to 
ask me any questions they choose? 

The Recorder. The questions are submitted to the court and are, of 
course, approved by the court before they are put. 

General Hazen. Shall I submit them in writing ? 

The Court. You can submit them to the court, and if they are proper 
they can be put by the court. They may be submitted orally. 

The Recorder. General Hazen requests the court to inquire of the 
witness whether the words in his answer on page 84, "too few provisions," 
refer to the provisions for the Proteus or the Greelv party or for t!ie 
Yantic ? 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUJRV. 91 

Tiie Witness. Those words refer entirely to the provisioiis i\n- the 
Yantic. 

General Hazex. I would like to ask further what knowledge t!ie wit- 
uess has that the Proteus crew was made of" beachcombers," 'longshoremen, 
and not seamen. I will explain my reason for that question. The con- 
tract made witli the owners of the Proteus, who are a firm of verv lonp- 
standing and of very high credibility, required that these men should be 
all prime and first class in every respect, and if they were not so I want 
the court to find out in order to know where the fault is. Hence I think 
it very important that that matter should be investigated as well as any 
other matter, believing that I took every possible means to make that crew 
what it ought to be. 

The Court. There is no objection to that question being answered. 

The Witness. It was too late in the season to secure a good crew of 
sealers such as is usually taken north \vith such expeditions. When a 
crew was shipped for the Proteus most of these men had gone into other 
operations — codfishing, farming, or various occupations. Captain Pike 
said that he had to pick up a crew wherever he could get it, and it was a 
very poor cre\v. I also made the statement on the authority of Lieuten- 
ant Colwell, who is capable of judging what a seaman is. I also had 
thei:!! mustered every morning while they were on board of my ship, and_ 
I had an opportunity to look at them and personally inspect them, and 
from my knowledgeof seamen there were very few of them whom I would 
have enlisted on my ship. 

General Hazex. On the 89th page of the record, Commader Wildes 
says : 

The presence of the Yautic there no doubt contributed, as I have understood, to pre- 
serving the morale among them — 

Meaning the crew of the Proteus ; 

that is, that Pike's party did not get the upper hand ; they thought it probable they 
might be brought to account. 

This refers to a possible mutiny among those men. I would, like to 
.know what he knows in regard to it. 

The Court. [To the witness.] Will you answer that question? 

The Witness, All my information was derived from Lieutenant Col- 
well. I received a letter from him in Godhaven stating many points about 
the progress of the expedition, what had occurred, and the condition it was 
in up to the time he left it at Cape York. I base that statement on that 
letter. 

By the Court : 

Q. Have yon that letter? — A. I haven't it with me. It was not an of- 
ficial letter. This letter was written right on the spot with all the facts 
fresh in his memory and probably was not exaggerated at all. It was 
forwarded tlirough an Eskimo, and it was intended to give me as correct an 
idea as possible of the condition they were in in order that I might know 
what was best to do for them. 

General Hazex. On the same page the question was asked by Lieu- 
tenant Garlington : 

Q. I will ask you whether or not you intended to include me in the answer that no 
study of the experience of others had been given to this suVjject? — A. I meant by the 
authors of the expedition, those who lifted it out. 



92 PKoCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIET. 

I wish to kiidw if the witness included in that the C'liief Signal Officer 
and the efforts of the Signal Service to carry out that expedition? 

The Court. [To the witness.] You can answer that c[uestion. 

The \YiTNEs8. I have nothing to add to the answer there, sir. 

General Ha^^ex. Then I would like to ask what he knows about the 
study of experience by the Chief Signal Officer and the Signal Bureau 
with regard to that expedition. 

The Court. [To the witness.] You can reply to that. 

The WrrNESS. That is answered on page 84, I think. I say there 
that I do not know that any reference was made to fjrmer experience; 
that is, not to my knowledge. I cannot say positively; I only judge of 
what is patent to everybody. I mean ^vhat everybody can see for them- 
selves, the progress and the results last year and this year. That is the 
only reason. 

(ireneral Hazen. Then I would like to ask wherein the expeditions 
either last year or this year failed to get as far north or do as much as any 
ship could do up to the time that the ship last year came to the solid pack, 
which no ship could pass, or this year till she by false seamanship or the 
act of God was nipped and sank. By " pack" 1 mean solid ice. 

The Court. [To the witness.] You can answer that. 

The WiTXESs. Probably they did as much as they could do last year 
and this yeai', fitted and equipped as they were. 

By the Court : 

Q,. How long was the Proteus party on board of your ship ? 

The Witness. You mean the whole paity ? 

The Court. Yes. 

A. I picked them up on 'the 2d of September, and we arrived in St. 
John's on the 13th. I sailed the same day within a few hours after taking 
them on board. 

Q,. And you had then ample opportunity to observe them ? — A. I had 
eleven days. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. By way of explanation of one of your former answers, I desire to 
ask at what time of the year do the sealers usually leave St. John's ? — A. 
They leave on the 10th of March. They cannot leave until then by law, 
and they all go out together at that time. 

Q. Do they make a second trip? — A. Sometimes they do. 

Q. AVhat time would they come back from their first trip ? — A. They 
are all through both trips by the latter part of April. It they make a 
successful and rapid trip some of them go out again. It is notalwaysthe 
case, as I understand. 

Q.. Do they go out again in April ? — A. They go out just as soon as 
they can get out. If they are lucky and make a large iind of seals, kill a 
great many, they till their vessels, come in, discharge, and go right out 
again. But tliey are through with both trips usually by the latter part of 
April. 

Q. What becomes of them after that; are they not to be found in the 
neighborhood of St. John's? — A. They were not to be found, as I under- 
stand it, this past summer. It was said there that they were scattered 
gone in vessels or abroad to England or in the cod-fisheries. The cod- 



PBOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 93 

fishery was very large this year, there having been a large quantity of cod 
taken, 

Q. That is pursued later? — A. I believe that commences later in the 
season. Then they had gone into the interior also, away from St. John's, 
not into the interior of the island, but into the interior towns and points 
there for employment. 

Lieut. John C. Colwell, United States Navy, was then recalled and 
further examined. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. What did you observe, if anything, in reference to the capacity of 
Captain Pike as an ice-master or an ice-pilot? — A. This was apparently 
his first experience in Arctic ice. 

Q,. Did or did he not con the ship in the ice ? — A. He conned it from 
the bridge under the direction of one of the mates in the crow -nest. 

Q. That is, from the mast-head? — A. That is, from the fore truck, 
which was the extreme top of the foremast. 

Q. Had the mate had any experience in Arctic ice ? — A. None. 

Q,. Do you know that Captain Pike put the ship in any nnnecessary 
danger as far as you observed ? — A. It was ray first experience in the ice, 
and his actions were not such as would have been mine. But at the time 
I supposed his judgment to be correct, as he is a sealing captain. 

Q,. Are not the sealing captains accustomed to navigate the ice? — A. 
Not Arctic ice. 

Q,. Such ice as you met ofi^ the coast of Labrador ? — A. Not such ice 
as^that. 

By the Court : 

Q. Had the Proteus been in command of a naval officer of experience 
do you think the result would have been different after leaving Littleton 
Island? — A. I think it would. 

Q,. Upon w^hat do you base that opinion ? — A. With the experience 
that I have now of that ice I would not have put a ship into the leads 
and kept her in the ice as the captain of that ship did. 

Q,. Do you think that he kept in the leads so long because he was igno- 
rant of the nature of Arctic ice ? — A. That is my opinion. I think when he 
was stopped in the ice the first evening after we left Payer Harbor he 
should liave gotten out of the pack that night instead of lying in it all 
night as he did. 

Q. Do you attribute that to any inexperience on his part in dealing 
with Arctic ice? — A. I do. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. How far had you entered this pack then from its edge" 

The Witness. When we were stopped ? 

The Recorder. At the time you speak of, when you think he should 
have gotten out. 

A. We were about six miles inside of it. 

Q. Would it have been practicable to get out and return to Payer 
Harbor ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. Was Payer Harbor protected from the ice? — A. Yes, sir. 



94 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Was any remoustrance made with Captain Pike by Lieutenant 
Garlingtou or any different course of action requested of him? — A. I 
heard none. I heard Captain Pike say, " The ship is in a safe jjlace. 
This ice is soft and won't hurt her if it does nip." It did nip that night, 
but not very heavily. 

Q. And how was it immediately preceding the disaster? — A. The 
ship was trying to get out of the pack then. 

Q. Tlie same pack? — A. The same ice. She was only a few miles 
from where slie had stuck the niglit before, and was endeavoring to make 
her Avay out. 

Q. Going out ? — A. Working out through the ice. When she was 
crushed there was no open water for her to go into. She was tyying to- 
wedge two heavy floes apart. A man was landed on the ice and he fol- 
lowed around the crack to see if the crack extended into open water, which 
extended to within a few hundred yards. He came back and said it did. 
The floes were closed tightly together. The captain put the bow of the 
ship against the crack and worked the engines ahead full speed. This 
wedged the two floes apart and the ship worked about half way between 
them. 

Q. How far ? — A. Probably one hundred and fifty yards. One of the 
floes was about four hundred yards in diameter. The other was the main 
ice-field. She was about half way through when the ice closed up under 
her stern, and you could see it nipping up ahead, and that is where she 
was crushed. 

Q. What was the thickness of this ice ? — A. I measured some of it. It 
was from six to seven and a half feet. That was on the level. Of course 
it was much thicker where it was at all hummocky. 

Q. What was the state of the wind ? — A. Perfectly calm. 

Q. The ice was moved by the tides ? — A. By the tides. 

Q. What was the state of the tide ? ' 

The WiT2^ESS. When the ship was first nipped ? 

The Recorder. About the time of the disaster, when she was crushed ? 

A. When she was crushed the tide was running flood. She sank when 
the ice slacked, with the first of the ebb. 

Q. To what did the fast ice cling there ? — A. There was no fast ice there. 

Q. Did I not understand you that one of the floes was stationary ? — A. 
That was the main ice-field occupying Smith's Sound as far as we could 
see off to the eastward. 

Q. But the motion, as I understand you, appeared to come from the 
other floe? — A. My impression of the nip was that the main ice-field was 
moving to the southward with the current; there is a steady current in 
Smith's Sound; the ice to the southward of this, between where we were 
and Cape Sabine, was very much broken ; this ice was moving in with the 
flood-tide when she was first nipped, and the main field coming down from 
the northward, jammed this broken ice against Cape Sabine, and the ship 
was caught between the two. 

Q. How did the ebb-tide operate ? — A. The ebb-tide started the whole 
thing moviug oft' to the southward and eastward again. Of course the 
broken ice was running much faster, probably a knot an hour fibster than 
the main field. But the whole thing was moving to the southward and 
eastward. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 95 

Q. In reference to the matter about which Captain Wildes has been in- 
terrogated this morning, as to some mutinous indications among the crew 
of the Proteus, what is your knowledge of that, if you have any ? — A. 
Their own officers had no control over them. At the time of the 
disaster I heard one of the crew d^fy one of his officers ; he told him the 
Proteus was lost and there were no more officers ; every man was for him- 
self; one man was as good as another. I heard Captain Pike several times 
call on his men to do certain things and they paid no attention to his 
orders. 

By the Court : 
Q. Before or after the disaster ? — A. After the disaster. Coming down 
the coast in the boats I can remember several times we had private infor- 
mation from some member of the crew of the Proteus that we had better 
keep a lookout on our boats and stores, as there was a party of men in 
the Proteus' crew who wanted to steal our boats and make for the west 
coast, our boats being much better than the Proteus' boats. After that we 
kept an armed watch over the stores all the time, and kept one rifle with 
us whenever we slept and the man on watch with another rifle. 

By the Recordee : 

Q. Had the crew of the Proteus any arms among them ? — A. They 
had eleven guns ; it was either six shot-guns and 'five rifles or five shot- 
guns and six rifles, I am not sure which. 

Q. Among the men ? — A. Among the men. 

Q. The sailors? — A. The sailors. 

Q. Were Captain Pike and his mate armed ? — A. No, sir ; a great 
many of these arms belonged to the ship, were not the private property of 
the men, but the men had them ; I understood from Lieutenant Garling- 
ton that he had requested Captain Pike not to allow these men to have 
these arms and ammunition, and Captain Pike had promised that he would 
take the arms from them, but he never did it. 

Q. That was the whole substance of your report to Commander Wildes 
upon this subject as far as you recollect? — A. I do not remember exactly^ 
what I wrote to him. I wrote it in a great hurry when I was out in an 
open boat on my way south. An Eskimo canoe came ofl'to me. T wrote 
this note on a blank sheet of paper torn out of a book and sent it down 
to him. I do not remember exactly what I said. I have never seen it 
since, but I tried to place the ('ondition of aflairs before him. 

Q. In reference to what was this refusal to obey Captain Pike ? — A. I 
remember a number of times — I cannot recall exactly what, with the ex- 
ception of twice — he called to them to come and help haul the boats up> 
and they did not come. On one occasion when he called his whole crew 
were sitting down near him. His first mate, his son, and the ship's cook 
and one of the firemen obeyed his call. The rest of them sat there and 
looked at him. 

Q. Do you know anything of any depredations by the crew of the Pro- 
teus upon the property of the expedition ? — A. I know that they took a 
great deal of the stores of the expedition at the time of the wreck. I rec- 
ognized some canned things and clotliing. 

By the Coi-rt : 

Q. At or about the time they refused to obey Captain Pike were they 



96 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

plundering the private baggage of the officers as well as the public sup- 
plies'? — A. I never heard Captain Pike give any orders when they were 
plundering. 

Q. Did he attempt to stop their pillaging ? — A. During the greater 
part of that time I was not with the main party when they did most of their 
stealing. I was still on board the ship. That was before slie sank, and 
after she sank I had gone to the other side of the crack, and when I got 
back our stores had all been collected in one pile. In the mean time, I 
understand, when the things were being thrown out of the ship on the 
ice they broke open the packages and helped themselves. I did not see 
them doing it, although I saw the things in their possession. I did not 
see them break open these packages as I was on the ship at the time. 

Q. Did they not steal some of your own personal property? — A. I 
never saw any of my things after the wreck. I did recognize some, too, 
but could not recognize them positively enough to claim them, with the 
exception of one coat. 

Q. And your powder cans? — A. Yes, those powder cans. But they 
were empty when I recognized them, 

Q. You recognized them as yours? — A. I recognized them as mine be- 
cause I had a peculiar kind of powder. 

(The witness here left the stand, his examination being concluded.) 

General Hazen. I wish to say to the court that the Proteus and her 
captain were hired after very deliberate and very careful considera- 
tion. Captain Pike brought to tlie owners of the ship from Lieuten- 
ant Greely in 1881 a letter highly indorsing him as fulfilling all 
of his wishes. That letter the owners have. The owners also are 
a firm of very long standing — over a hundred years — of the high- 
est respectability, who consider their probity in business as high as it 
is possible for any firm to do. They made this contract with me to 
furnish that ship, thoroughly equipped and manned and provisioned, 
in the best possible way. They now claim that they did it. If they did 
not do it tiiey are very much at fault. It is questioned to this court. It 
is a fact shown in evidence, as it now stands, that they did not do it. I 
would therefore ask that Captain Richard Pike, the captain of that ship, 
Mr. J. Syme, the agent of J, & M, Stewart, the owners of the Proteus, 
with whom I contracted, and Thomas N, Malloy, the consul of the 
United States stationed at St, John's, who made all these contracts, 
who wrote them all and knows all the facts, be called here as wit- 
nesses to testify upon all these facts, I ask this without casting any 
reflections upon the gentlemen who have given this testimony, I think 
it is due to me that the other side be iieard before this court. They 
have also expressed to me a desire to be confronted in order that they may 
make their own statements and their own case in this matter. There has 
also been a question raised, in fact it comes in direct testimony this morn- 
ing, that the originators of this expedition did not give it proper study, 
did not properly prepare it, and that the means were inadequate. I would 
like to have Captain Clapp, of the Sixteenth Infantry, who knows more 
of that than anybody in the world but myself, ordered here to testify to 
the court what study an^ preparation were made for that expedition, I 
would also like to have General John P. Hawkins, the commissary who 
selected and bought all the stores, brought here to testify as a witness as 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 9T 

to their quality and their general condition. I think that will sufficiently 
establish the part that I had to do with this contracting and furnishing, 
and I think it will put before the court the proper statement of the case 
which I would like to have them understand. 

The Recorder. Did 1 understand you to say you have letters from 
these gentlemen ? 

General Hazen. I have a letter stating that in case these subjects are 
touched upon they wish to state their case. 

The Recorder. Upon the subject of the fitting out? 

General Hazen. Upon the whole subject; the character of the Proteus 
and the subject of the fitting out in men as well as material; and I would 
like also for them to bring the letter from Lieutenant Greely indorsing 
Captain Pike. 

The Recorder. Does Captain Clapp know anything of the case that 
is not known personally to yon ? 

General Hazen. He knows a great deal of the minutise of the prepara- 
tions, he having done it with his own hands in his own way. In a gen- 
eral way he knows no more than I, but the particulars of that work he 
does know better than I, because he did it himself. 

The Recorder. As to the fitting out ? 

General Hazen. As to the fitting out. 

The Recorder. As to what supplies were provided ? 

General Hazen. As to what supplies were provided and the general 
study and care and attention that was given to the whole subject. 

The Recorder. He was relieved by Lie.utenant Garlington in your 
office as early as February, was he not ? 

General Hazen. Yes, sir ; but the main decision and the main plan of 
preparations had then been completed. 

The Recorder. Has Captain Pike expressed any wish to appear before 
the court ? 

General Hazen. He has, through the consul, stated that he wanted his 
conduct investigated, if questioned. 

The Court. The suggestion of General Hazen will be considered by 
the court. 

General W. B. Hazen was then recalled and further examined as fol- 
lows : 

By the Court : 

Q,. It might be well to take advantage of this opportunity to ask a few 
questions. About the 4th of June, 1883, when the papers relating to the 
instructions of Lieutenant Garlington were before you for consideration 
and for signature, did you observe the paper known as "Inclosure 4?" — 
A. I have no recollection of that paper until it was brought to me by 
Lieutenant Garlington. 

Q. Who presented those papers for your signature ? A. That I do not 
remember. 

Q. Do you remember whether or not it was Captain Powell who had 
been Acting Chief Signal Officer during your absence ? — A. I do not. 

Q. You acted upon these papers on the day they were presented to 
you ? — A. I acted immediately. 
S. Ex. 100 7 



98 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Did you examine any inclosures to the letter of instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington ? — A. Not that I remember, until he brought his packet 
to me after they Avere delivered to him. 

Q. Then when you turned over the papers to Lieutenant Caziarc, your 
adjutant-general, to give them a proper direction, you submitting all the 
papers to him, AA as it your intention that all those papers should go to 
Lieutenant Garlington or tliat Lieutenant Caziarc should select such as 
should accompany the order ? — A. I do not remember that there was any 
special reservation about it ; as far as I remember the papers were returned 
just as I received them ; I have no recollection about any of the inclosures ; 
I only recollect as to the orders that I signed ; the various papers that 
were with it I have no recollection of. 

Q. Did you add anything to the orders as they were submitted to you? — 
A. Not at that time. 

Q. I merely ask this because I do not quite understand the case. As I 
recollect, Lieutenant Caziarc states that those papers had been submitted to 
the Acting Chief Signal Officer with the original of that memorandum and 
that that original was intended for the Secretary of the Navy ; that another 
copy was submitted with the instructions to you through Captain Powell — 
that Captain Powell submitted those papers to you for action. He does 
not know what passed between you and Captain Powell. That when 
the papers were returned to him there were the instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, the inclosures that are referred to in those instruc- 
tions, and this memorandum, and that without very thorough exam- 
ination he was perfectly satisfied that that memorandum was part and 
parcel of the instructions and continued to have that opinion until after 
the disaster, and my question is designed to ascertain whether you could 
remember how these papers got into your possession and what you in- 
tended by the inclosures that were sent with the order to Lieutenant 
Caziarc to be delivered to Lieutenant Garlington? — A. I do not remem- 
ber any particulars about the inclosures in that envelope. I only remem- 
ber that I did not intend that that memorandum should be part of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington's orders. 

Q,. And you jiever saw the memorandum until Lieutenant Garlington 
showed it to you? — A. Not that I remember. 

Q. Was the original of that memorandum shown to the Secretary of 
the Navy ? — A. I do not think it was. I do not think that either the 
original or a copy was ever shown to him. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Or to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation ? — A. No, I do not 
think so. My impression was that it was not. I know I did not intend 
it to go over there as a part of any memorandum for their guidance, be- 
cause I immediately went over myself and told them precisely what I 
w^anted and furnished them the order which was Mr. Garlington's, and 
his only order, and the letter of Mr. Greely. 

By the Court : 

Q. You do not remember at what period of the transaction that last 
remark was added to Lieutenant Garlington's instructions, in which he 
was told that a naval vessel, the Yautic, would accompany him, and so 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 99 

on ? — A. No ; it was added before this final handing to him of the papers, 
and it was after I returned fi'om St. John's. 

Q. Was that the result of any conversation between yourself and Cap- 
tain Powell or Lieutenant Caziarc or anybody? — A. Not at all. It was 
the information which I had directly from the Secretary of the Navy 
that this ship should go. 

Q,. When you wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Navy througli the 
Secretary of War asking for a naval vessel to accompany the Proteus you 
stated therein tliat you did not intend the vessel to go into the ice? — A. 
Into the pack. 

Q. YoLi also, in a telegram that you sent from St. John's and which was 
read this morning, say : 

Tender to go to southern limits of pack-ice. 

What did you exactly mean by that ? — A. I meant that the vessel should 
not enter the pack-ice where she would be in danger, supposing that she 
would have no occasion to do it in reaching Littleton Island, and I also 
felt it necessary to assure the Navy Department that she should not go, 
fearing that the vessel would not be given us at all if there was any danger 
of that kind. But I always supposed, without going into the pack, that 
she would arrive at Littleton Island, and my conversations wath the Sec- 
retary of the Navy or the Acting Secretary of the Navy were always based 
upon that fact. 

Q. As far as your information went at that time, were you not aware 
of the difficulties of going through Melville Bay, and that the pack-ice 
w^ould be found there on all occasions, and that there was only a chance 
to get through without meeting them? — A. No; my understanding then 
was that, although the pack-ice was in Melville Bay, a ship at all seasons, 
without seriously entering the pack, could get through to Littleton Island ; 
I understood that the pack-ice extended all through that bay, but by keep- 
ing near the west coast of Greenland that any summer a vessel could reach 
Littleton Island, and it was upon that theory that Littleton Island was 
selected as a depot rather tlian the west coast, because that far the vessel 
■could always reach. 

By the Recoedee : 

Q. I think you stated that yo.u did not see the instructions to the Yan- 
tic? — A. They were never furnished our office until since the disaster. 

Q. Did you see any memorandum upon which they were based ? — A. I 
never did. 

Q. Did you know their nature, or was the nature of the instructions 
communicated to you ? — A. No, sir ; they never were. I see, in reading 
over the instructions this morning, they follow very closely my verbal re- 
quest. 

Q. Do you remember of the Secretary of the Navy asking you if they 
were entirely satisfactory to you? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Or telling you that he could not be responsible for the duty; that 
it was a duty to be performed at your request, and that you must be re- 
sponsible as to the nature of the instructions conforming to your request? — 
A. He never said anything to me that I remember about instructions. He 
did say something to the effect, if I remember rightly, that it was done 
at mv request. But as to the matter of instructions, I do not remember 
■' L.ofC. 



100 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

his ever saying anything to me about it. If he had it certainly appears, 
to me he would have sent me something of the instructions that he had 
drawn up in order that I might have passed upon them. 

Q. But your conversations with regard to the detail of the instructions 
were with the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, were they not ? — A. At 
the last conversation I had I think the Secretary of the Navy and Com- 
modore Walker of the Navy were both present. It was very short and 
my requests were very simple. I have already given them: that the Yan- 
tic proceed northward as far as Littleton Island, with the Proteus, as an 
escort or a tender, and do such things after her arrival and on the way as 
might be deemed proper by the different commanders. 

Q. Did you specify the supply of any stores or provisions for the ex- 
pedition or for the Greely party ? 

The Witness. To be carried by the Yantic? 

The Recorder. Yes ; or to be furnished by the Yantic. — A. No ;, 
there was no specification of that sort made. 

By the Court : 

Q,. Did any of the naval authorities with whom you consulted at any 
time express any doubt that the Yantic could reach Littleton Island ? — A. 
I do not remember' that they did. There were a great many doubts ex- 
pressed about it, but whether they were expressed at these interviews 
with the Secretary of the Navy or Commodore Walker I do not remem- 
ber. But I was left with the impression that there was a good deal of 
doubt in their minds as to her getting there. 

Q,. As to her reaching Littleton Island ? — A. As to her reaching Lit- 
tleton Island. 

Q. Did you have any doubt yourself? — A. I had none. 

Q. None at all ? — A. Yes, I had the same doubt that I would have of 
any ship on a perilous expedition, but my experiences had led me to be- 
lieve that those preconceived difficulties usually passed away upon reaching 
them, and I had scarcely a doubt but with proper effort the Yantic could 
get through. 

Q. And therefore you were perfectly willing to risk the safety of the 
expedition upon the Yantic reaching Littleton Island ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. And remain there as a base ? — A. And remain there as a base. I 
considered that that would add largely to the chance of the expedition 
being a success. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. I will ask you if it would not have been much better if Mr. Beebe 
had been instructed to cache all his stores at say Cape Sabine, or at 
Littleton Island, or in that neighborhood, rather than bring them to St. 
John's, and why were not instructions given him to that effect? — A. In 
my opinion it would have been very much better if he had done it. But 
it seemed to carry out the plan of Mr. Greely to bring them back ; and it 
was done. I have regretted very much ever since that such instructions 
were not given and that his supplies were not ail left at Cape Sabine. 

By the Court: 
Q. What supplies did Lieutenant Greely ask to have sent up to him in 
the letter that was received ? — A. He asked that supplies for forty men 



PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 101 

for one year should be sent, and as a guide to their quantity and kind and 
quality that we should be governed by the list which he had taken up 
himself. 

Q,. Do you know why he should have required such additional pro- 
visions when, according to your previous testimony, he had taken with 
him about five years' supplies, and under his instructions he was to remain 
there only two years ? — A. He was to remain there three years under his 
instructions ; that is, his party was to remain there three years. It was 
not intended that the party should come back after twa years, until Con- 
gress passed that law. The reason of his adding to the supply was to 
cover any possible contingency in deterioration or loss of stores or any 
dependence the vicissitudes and accidents in the progress of the ship 
might make necessary, or to land the stores and make a depot at Littleton 
Island to live upon them. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. How did it happen that Mr. Garlington was informed in his in- 
structions that Greely's supplies would be exhausted this fall? — A. That 
is a matter 1 have thought of a great deal. I am not able to account for 
it. It was either a clerical error or it was put in by Captain Clapp in his 
first rough draft and the matter was overlooked afterward. 

Q. It would naturally have the effect to impress upon Lieutenant Gar- 
lington the urgent necessity of reaching Lady Franklin Bay, perhaps? — 
A. I have often thought that that was what Captain Clapp intended in so 
writing it; but I do not know. It would have that effect. 

Q. Does the charter party embody all the agi'eements you made with 
the firm of J. & W. Stewart?— A. It does. 

Q,. I do not observe that there is anything special respecting the char- 
acter of the crew ? 

The Witness. Have you the charter party? 

The Recorder. I have it here. [Submitting Signal Service Notes 
No. 10 to witness.] 

A. Although not stated in words this seems to cover it : 

That the parties to the first part agree that in consideration of the terms hereinafter 
set forth, the said steamship or vessel being tight, staunch, and strong,, and in every way 
fitted for the voyage hereinafter described. 

It seems to me that that covered the requirement in every way of being 
fitted with a proper crew. 

Q. But you refer more to oral promises that the crew should be of 
the best character? — A. AVe had a conversation to that effect, and I was 
promised very positively that that should be so. 

Q. You accompanied Lieutenant-Commander McCalla wlien he made 
an inspection of the Proteus? — A. Yes, sir; I was not with him when 
he inspected the boilers, but I was with him when he made the other in- 
spections. 

Q. You visited the ship? — A. I visited the ship in person. 

Q. Was the crew shipped then ? — A. A portion of them were. 

Q. Did you receive any impression as to the character of the men ? — 
A. They impressed me well. I will say with regard to the captain that 
he was reputed in all that country as the best captain for that northern 
service. As to the ships, both the Proteus and the Neptune were reputed 



102 • PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

in all that section as being in every respect among the best, and in many 
respects the very best, of that fleet. I will say further with regard to that 
fleet that it is. built expressly for that service and is the development of more 
than two hundred years' experience in sealing work. It is composed 
of over a thousand ships, comprising sailers and steamers. The better 
steamers are made in Scotland and at the best ship-yards, and the testimony 
of that entire community was that these were the best ships for that pur- 
pose that could be obtained, and I yet have to be informed wherein, in 
each of the three cases until they met impassable barriers that no ship in 
the world could stand, they did not fully in every way fill the conditions 
of the service. 

Q. Did you understand they were accustomed to encounter heavy ice ? — 
A. They are made specially with regard to that. 

Q,. What did you understand to have been Captain Pike's experience 
as an ice-pilot? — A. I was informed that he was thoroughly competent 
as an ice-pilot ; that he had been all his life in that sealing service in the- 
ice of Baffin's Bay, and that he had every possible experience that was 
necessary for a man to have. 

Q. How many of the crew do you suppose you saw yourself? — A. I 
should say that there wei'e a dozen. 

Q. Exclusive of the officers? — A. Yes, sir. The engineer seemed very- 
capable. He had been just promoted from an assistant. He had been 
with that ship on its previous cruise. The mate had also been on the pre- 
vious cruise with Lieutenant Greely. I have been told since that he was 
a son of the captain. But in that respect it should be remembered that 
the trades in families up in that country continue to all time, the son suc- 
ceeding the father, and I would not consider that as any objection to him. 

Q. Did you make any examination of the boats of the Proteus? — A. I 
did; they seemed to be fair boats; I will say, with regard to the equip- 
ment of those sealers, that they would not come up to the standard of the 
naval service of the United States; those boats are used for the trade in 
seals and blubber and oils ; they burn pitch pine, and they are dingy and; 
black all of them, and in respect to the standard of a United States naval 
officer none of them would pass muster ; but those ships with their equip- 
ment, for all the substantial purposes that they were required by these ex- 
peditions, seemed to me to be admirable, and I think their service has 
proven them to be so; their selection was made after a great deal of study 
upon that subject. 

Q. How long did you and Commander McCalla remain in St. John's? 
— A. We Avere there five days. I think the NcAvfoundland fleet for ice- 
service is the largest and the best in the world. That is its reputation as I 
have been able to rather it. That comes from their Ion"; use in this snecial 
ice- work. 

Commodore John G. Walker, United States Navy, Chief of the Bu- 
reau of Navigation, Navy Department, was then sworn and examined as 
follows : 

By the Recorder : 

Question. You are chief of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy 
Department? — Answer. Yes, sir. 

Q. And were so last summer immediately preceding the sending of the 
Yantic to Baffin's Bay ? — A. Yes, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 103 

Q. The court would like to hear from you the history of the negotiation 
between the Chief Signal Officer and the Secretary of the Navy which led to 
the sending of the Yantic to Baffin's Bay. — A. The Chief Signal Officer 
asked verbally if it were possible to furnish a ship for tliat purpose, and 
talked with the Secretary of the Navy and also with me, and he was told 
that we could fjjrnish one. He then made a written application to the Sec- 
retary of War, who wrote to the Secretary of the Navy on the subject, and 
the Secretary of War was told that a ship would be furnished. The 
Yantic being the most available ship for the purpose was the one selected, 
and orders were given to fit her for that service. 

Q. That was a letter of May 14th, which we have before us asking that 
the ship should be sent ? — A. I think so ; yes, sir. 

Q. Subsequent to the receipt of that letter did you have any interview 
with General Hazen ? — A. Several. There was a good deal of communi- 
cation between the Signal Officer and the Secretary of the Navy and with 
me also. There was a good deal of talk and a desire upon the part of the 
Navy Department to meet the views of the Signal Office and of the War 
Department, that we might do everything in our power to fui'ther their 
views. 

Q. Did the instructions to the commander of the Yantic embody all the 
requests made, either verbal or written, by General Hazen ? — A. I think 
so. A good deal of this work was done in conversation, but the instruc- 
tions to the Yantic were intended to meet the views of the War Depart- 
ment. 

Q. What did you understand as the object of the Chief Signal Officer in 
asking for the Yantic particularly? — A. Simply to have a relief vessel to 
fall back upon in case of disaster to the Proteus. 

Q. Was it contemplated that the Yantic should furnish any provisions 
from her stores for the use of the Greely party? — A. Not at all. 

Q. Did General Hazen make any request to you or in your hearing that 
the vessel should be used as a depot? — A. No, I never knew of such a 
req nest. 

Q. The instructions directed the commander of the Yantic to proceed 
to Littleton Island. At the same time he was cautioned that in no case 
was he to enter the ice-pack or to put himself in a position where he would 
be detained beyond the season. You remember the clause, probably ? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. How, in the mind of the Navy Department in giving those orders, 
were those two things to be reconciled ? — A. In my own mind I liadvery 
little doubt of his ability to reach Littleton Island sometime during the 
season. But the orders were positive that he should not go beyond Lit- 
tleton Island, the idea being that as he went up into the nai'row waters 
there he would be likely to come into more danger, and the orders not 
to go into the ice-pack were positive, because the ship was entirely unfitted 
for work in the ice. It was his duty to go to Littleton Island if he could 
effect it without too much risk to his ship, but he was to take care of his 
ship. 

Q,. The instruction to go to Littleton Island was therefore entirely con- 
tingent upon the condition of the ice in Melville Bay, where it is generally 
found in large masses ? — A. Yes, sir. 



104 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did the Navy Department give General Hazen to understand at 
any time during those negotiations that there was a probability that the 
Yantic would reach Littleton Island ? — A. I cannot say that we did, but 
I should not like to dispute it either, because in my mind there was very 
little doubt but that sometime during the season she would^reach Littleton 
Island, 

Q,. In your opinion were the probabilities for or against her getting to 
Littleton Island ? — A. In my mind the probabilities were that she Avould 
reach Littleton Island, perhaps not directly, but sometime during the sea- 
son, although it would not have surprised me if she had failed to reach 
there, still I thought there was a probability that she would succeed. 

Q. In the instructions it was stated that the vessels should accompany 
■each other. To what extent did you suppose that was to be construed ? — A. 
I did not myself suppose that they would accompan}^ each other. I sup- 
posed it would be practicable for the Proteus to go on where it would not 
be for the Yantic, and tliat they would soon separate for that reason. The 
Proteus was built for going into the ice and the Yantic was not. 

Q. Then your expectations were that the Proteus would get to Little- 
ton Island far ahead of the Yantic ? — A. Oh, yes ; that was my opinion. 

Q. That being the case, of what assistance did you suppose the Yantic 
would be to the Proteus if she did not accompany her at all ? — A. If the 
Proteus should come to grief, as she did, that the Yantic w^ould be avail- 
able to bring away her people ; I suppose no one was of the belief that 
she would come to grief so soon as she did ; the Yantic was simply a point 
to fall back upon in case they were obliged to fall back to save themselves. 

Q. Was the Yantic about the strongest ship you could send upon that 
expedition? — A. She was the smallest and the handiest ship that we had 
in the North Atlantic squadron. No ship built in the ordinary way is fit 
to go into heavy ice. She was as good as any that could be sent, and, 
being smaller, she was the handiest ship for that purpose. 

Q,. You could not have made any better selection for ice work than you 
did?— A. No. 

Q. And I suppose the sheathing that was put upon her was about the 
best that could be put on ? — A. That was simply to prevent the sharp ice 
from cutting her sides through. If that sheathing was taken away the ice 
would cut her sides. 

Q. Then I suppose you are very well satisfied wnth what the com- 
mander of the Yantic did in theexpedition under all the circumstances? — A. 
I think he got on faster than we had reason to suppose he would. I think 
he reached Littleton Island quite as early as we had reason to suppose he 
would. Such navigation is difficult and dangerous and subject to delays 
from many causes. 

Q. And therefore the Yantic accomplished about as much as you ex- 
pected, taking things altogether? — A. Yes, I think she did. 

Q. When the Chief Signal Officer asked for a naval vessel he stated 
that he did not expect she would go into the ice-pack. That being the 
case, how^ far did you suppose he expected the vessel to go before she 
struck the ice? — A. The ship was liable to strike the ice-pack anywhere 
in Baffin's Bay. But she could, of course, avoid it by going around the 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 105 

pack and working her way to the northward. I suppose it was expected 
by the Chief Signal Officer that she wonkl go up to Littleton Island. 

Q. And that by the " ice-pack " was meant the pack she would meet in 
Smith's Sound? — A. The ice-pack that she would aieet in Melville 
Bay or at any j^oint on her passage up or down. She was not to put her- 
self in danger by running into the pack wherever she found it. 

Q. You think that the delay that was made by the Yantic on the way 
up was absolutely necessary in her case — about Uperuavik and Disko and 
along there? — A. I do not know that I can say positively about that. Her 
commanding officer, I presume, was anxious to start north with all the 
coal he could carry, and then I understand that he had very thick weather. 
Of course the moment fog and thick weather come on he had better be at 
anchor at Upernavik, or wherever he was, than to go out in the open bay. 

Q. And she was not able to carry all the coal she wanted from St. 
John's ? — A. Not for the entire cruise. 

Q. And therefore she was to stop and pick up coal ? — A. Yes, if she 
could get it. Navigation in fog and thick weather is difficult and danger- 
ous enough anywhere, but especially so in that high latitude where a ves- 
sel is liable to fall in with ice at any moment. 

By the Rp:corder : 

Q. Would it not have been advisable for the commander of the Yantic 
and Lieutenant Garlington to have agreed upon a number of places of 
rendezvous between Upernavik and Littleton Island where Lieutenant 
Garlington could expect to find the Yantic at different times? — A. The 
object of the Yantic was to reach Littleton Island as directly as she could, 
and I do not know that they would naturally think of other points. That 
was a matter of detail for them to settle. I do not know that any one 
could say. 

Q. When two vessels are sent upon joint duty of that kind do not the 
commanders fix upon certain points of meeting ? — A. They would natur- 
ally fix upon certain points of meeting, but I presume neither of those 
gentlemen looked for any danger south of Littleton Island, and their 
natural ])oint of meeting would have been Littleton Island or in that 
neighborhood. 

Q. But in view of the difficulty of getting to Littleton Island and the 

delay that was to be anticipated, would it not have been better A. [In- 

terrupting.J Any delay in getting to Littleton Island would probably be 
from the ice in Melville Bay, where there would be no point. 

Q. AVhich would prevent the vessel from reaching any other point ? — 
A. Where they probably would not reach the land. 

By the Court : 

Q. Do you know of an agreement which was" made between Commander 
Wildes and Lieutenant Garlington before they left St. John's and by which 
they were to separate and meet at Upernavik and Disko? — A. I know it 
was reported that there was such an agreement ; yes, sir. 

Q,. You have not seen that agreement ? — A. No, I have never read that 
agreement. 

(The agreement referred to was here submitted to the witness and by 
him read.) 



106 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q,. Now, under the instructions, as you remember them, do you think 
there was any impropriety in those two gentlemen entering into that 
agreement in the prosecution of the work? — A. I think not. 

Q. You thinlv that was proper under the circumstances ? — A, I think 
that that was perfectly proper. 

At this point (^2.30 p. m.) the doors were closed for deliberation by 
the court upon the question of sending for witnesses, and, after thirty 
minutes spent therein, at 3 o'clock p. m., the doors were reopened, and the 
court adjourned until to-morrow at 11 o'clock a. m. 



Washington, D. C, 
Wednesday y November 21, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of yesterday w^as read, the testimony of the wit- 
nesses being read in their presence, and the record being amended was 
approved. Whereupon 

Lieutenant-Commander Bowman H. McCalla, United States Navy^ 
was sworn and examined, as follows: 

By the Recorder : 

Question. You made an inspection of the Proteus last summer, did you 
not? — Answer. T did, sir. 

Q. Is that a copy of your inspection report? [Presenting a certified copy 
of the same received from the Navy Department. — A. [After examining 
the same.] That is correct, sir. 

Q. Will you inform the court what examination you made, particularly, 
of the vessel and her equipments ? — A. On the 24th day of May I ar- 
rived at St. John's, N. F., about 1 a. m. The same morning I went 
on board the Proteus and went all over her. I particularly inspected her 
boiler, the repairs to which were just about completed. I went inside the 
boiler. On the following day I again went on board. Water was run up 
above the patch which had been put on in the lower and center furnace 
at the junction of the combustion chamber. On the following day, the 
26th, I went on board to see the vessel under steam. Meanwhile the 
bridges had been built in the furnaces, and there was twenty-five pounds 
of steam on at the time I went on board. The working pressure 
of main boiler was fifty pounds. The steam pressure ran up to fifty- 
five pounds when the engine was put in operation, and the ship was 
started ahead at her moorings and backed, and the engines were turned 
over in going ahead and reversing. The Proteus was in excellent con- 
dition in my opinion. She had davits for eight boats, I think, with 
arrangements to carry boats inside. She had two boats at the davits 
on the quarter. They were good boats. A third boat was in use along- 
side the ship. The other boats I understood were on shore. I learned 
at this time that special boats for the expedition were being built at the 
New York navy-yard, I thought the ship well fitted for the purpose. At 
the time of the inspection she was lying in the stream with about fifty tons of 
coal in her bunkers, with two spare propellers on the deck and one spare 
rudder. I asked for her compasses. The best compass was brought out 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 107 

from a locker where it was kept for safety in port and shown me. I thought 
it a good one. It was what is called a liquid compass. I was shown its 
binnacle or arrangement to mount it when in use, which was in the cabin 
skylight in the aft end, where the helmsman could see it from the wheel. 
Her other compasses the captain told me were on shore. As the result 
of my examination I made a report to General Hazen, a copy of which I 
have just pronounced correct. 

Q. Did you inspect her rigging and sails ? — A. Her rigging was good 
in my opinion. Her sail power was auxiliary and sufficient. 

Q,. Were these two boats that you saw large enough to carry her whole 
crew? — A. No, these two boats were not sufficient. As a sealer she car- 
ried eight or more boats — carried a large crew, from 40 to 60 men. I 
spoke about the boats, and it was then that I learned that special boats 
were being fitted. 

Q. For the expedition? — A. Yes, for the expedition, but for the Pro- 
teus the three boats that I saw. I do not know how much of a crew she 
was to hav^e when she was to go north. The tliree boats that I saw were 
capable of holding conveniently ten men each. I understood of course that 
there were other boats — eight or twelve. She had davits for eight boats 
and arrangements for carrying more inboard. 

Q. Do you know what leads she had? — A. I made no inspection of her 
outfit. 

Q. You did not see the crew ? — A. The crew ^vas not shipped with this 
exception. It is customary, I believe, to keep an engineer's force on board 
of the sealers all the year, together with the captain, in order to keep the 
boilers and engines in good condition. The engineers that I saw were 
three, one chief engineer, two assistant engineers, and one fireman. There 
was one whom I took to be an officer on the deck when I first went on 
board other than the captain. These were the only men attached to the 
ship at that time, to my knowledge. 

Q. Up to the time of your last inspection? — A. Yes, sir; the ship had 
returned from a second successful sealing voyage this year and had dis- 
charged her crew. 

Q. I observe that you recommended that a boiler-maker should be part 
of the crew as a condition of her acceptance ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether that was done? — A. I do not know; I will 
state why I recommended it if you like. 

Q. If 3^ou please. — A. Those ships do not carry boiler-makers ; the 
engineers are mechanics or machinists, but do not claim to be boiler-makers 
I thought the ship might possibly be detained a winter in the ice, and from 
my experience in naval steamers I felt that a skilled boiler-maker might 
be of great use in regard to the boilers, and would probably be serviceable 
as a skilled mechanic. 

Q. Did you meet Captain Pike, the master of the ship? — A. I met 
Captain Pike, the master of the ship, upon each occasion when I went on 
board. ^ 

Q. How did he impress you? — A. Captain Pike impressed me most 
favorably. He was a man of about fifty years of age, and in my conver- 
sation with liim I formed the opinion that he would make an excellent 
commander of the ship. He had been a successful sealer, and the impres- 
sion among: those with whom I talked in St. John's was that he was an 



108 PROCEEDINGS OF PF?OTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

excellent man. I also talked with the chief engineer, whose name I do 
not now recall. He impressed me most favorably. Captain Pike and the 
chief engineer had both been in the ship two years to my knowledge, and 
both had made the trip to Lady Franklin Sonnd two years before with 
Lieutenant Greely and his party. 

Q. How did the others impress you ; what estimate did you form ol 
them? — A. I did not see enough of the two engineers to express an opin- 
ion beyond the fact that they seemed to be practical machinists. I had 
no conversation with the assistants, but saw them busy about the machinery 
and boiler. 

Q. Did General Hazen accompany you in these inspections? — A. Gen- 
eral Hazen accompanied me in my inspections, except tliat he was not 
on board at the third inspection. 

Q. What was the date of the last inspection? — A, The first inspection 
was on the 24th, the second on the 25th, and the third on the 26th of 
May. 

Q. And when did you start on your return ? — A. The evening of the 
26th. 

Q. By steamer? — A. By steamer. 

Q. With General Hazen ? — A. With General Hazen. 

Q. You did not see the equipment of the expedition? — A. I saw none 
of the outfit or the eqtiipment for the expedition. 

By the Court : 

Q. How many hours did you spend on board the ship in each of your 
inspections ? — A. At the, first inspection I was on board about two liours, 
as near as I can estimate. On the second inspection I was on board about 
the same time. On the third, about an hour. 

Q. Did you visit all parts of the ship ? — A. I visited all parts of the 
ship. 

Q,. Did you make a close inspection of the boats to which you refer in 
jour testimony? — A. I did not make a close inspection. I thought them 
excellent boats, and so remarked at the time. 

Q. From their general appearance, I suppose, rather than a close in- 
spection ? — A. From their general appearance. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Were yoti able to form any idea as to their age ? — A. The age of a 
boat is very deceptive. They might have been six months old or they 
might have been four years old, so far as I could judge. 

Q. The painting and so forth is apt to conceal their age ? — A. May be 
deceptive. But it cannot conceal decay or rot in boats. 

By the Court : 

Q. So that the boats may not have been as good as they appeared? — 
A. I should not say that. 

Q. Had you had any previous experience in regard to these sealers, as 
they are called ? — A. I had had none. 

Q,. That was the first time that you came in contact with any such ves- 
sels ? — A. The first time. 

Q. Then you could not give us any opinion as to how the Proteus 
compared with the best sealers in those waters ? — A. Yes, sir ; I saw 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 109 

there, I think, the. Neptune, the Bear, and the Eagle or Falcon; the Pro- 
teus was, in my opinion, the best of them so far as I eoulcl judge; the 
Bear and Neptune were about the same size as the Proteus ; the Eagle or 
Falcon — I am not certain of the name — was about, I should judge, three 
hundred tons less in burden. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. What was the tonnage of the Proteus? — A. About six hundred 
and eighty tons, English measurement. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did you hear anything in regard to the condition of her boilers, 
&c,, before you made the inspection — that they were very old and had to 
be replaced, and so on? — A. I did not. I heard nothing in regard to her 
boilers beyond what I have stated. 

Q. In regai'd to Captain Pike, the master of the vessel, from all that 
you gathered from him, and also from conversations with other people, 
did you think that he was about the best of such officers as command such 
vessels for sealing purposes ? — A. My opinion of him was that he was a 
superior man in that capacity to what I expected to find. 

Q. To what extent was he educated as a navigator? — A. That I could 
not state. To have been master of the Proteus he must have passed an 
examination in England under the direction of the Eng-lish Board of 
Trade, which would examine him as to his professional fitness for command 
of an English ship. I think* I told General Hazen that I thought him a 
most excellent man, and that having been up once to Lady Franklin 
Sound was much in his favor. 

Q,. Is the court to understand from your testimony that in your omn- 
ion the ship and the master were as good selections as could have been 
made in St. John's for the purpose ? — A. If I had had the selection I 
should have selected both the ship and the captain and also the chief 
engineer. I do not know that the chief engineer whom I saw went with 
the Proteus in that capacity. He told me that he expected to go. 

General William B. Hazen was then recalled and further examined. 
By the Recorder : 

Q. In I'egard to the boiler-maker, was there one taken in accordance 
with Mr. McCalla's request, and, if so, for what reason ? — A. Upon receiv- 
ing Commander McCalla's report that a boiler-maker would be necessary 
as one of the crew I immediately went myself to the agent of the company, 
Mr. Syme, and told him that he must be certain not to fail to have a first- 
class boiler-maker shipped as one of the crew of the Proteus, and that unless 
that was the case I would not charter the ship, and he informed me that 
he would attend to it and put the best boiler-maker on board that he could 
procure, and he afterwards informed me that he had done it. I also wish 
to say that yesterday in speaking of Mr. Greely's letter written at Lady 
Franklin Bay, commending Captain Pike, I said it was in St. John's and 
that I had only a copy, but I found last evening that I have the original 
letter, and have it before me and will be glad to read it to the court. 

By the Court : 
Q. The letter you have before you is the original letter ? — A. This is 



110 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

a certified copy of the original. The original letter is in my office. [Head- 
ing :] 

FOKT CoifGEE, GEINJvELL LAND, 
Lmly Franldin Bay, August 18, 1881. 
J. & W. Stewart, St. John's, N. F. : 

Gentlemen: I have the honor to express my full and entire satisfaction with Captain 
Pike's management of his vessel, as well as his treatment of myself and party. 

I have felt from the time we left Godhaven that onr expedition was in the hands of a 
capable and courteous shipmaster, who thoroughly understood his work and his vessel. 

I am, respectfully yours, 

A. W. GREELY, 

First Lieut, oth Cav., A. S. 0. mid Asst., 

Commanding the Expedition. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You have two other letters that you wish to read. Perhaps you 
had better read those. — A. Yes sir. [Reading:] 

United States Consulate, 
St. John's, AT. F., October 1, 1883. 
General W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, Washington, I). C. : 

Dear Sir : I regret the loss of the relief steamer Proteus. Lieutenant Garlington 

and party left here on the U. S. S. Yantic September 20. 

■K- * ^ * t;- -;<- * 

Captain Pike would vsdsh an examination, as his management has been censured by 
Commander Wildes of U. S. S. Yantic. Mr. Syme is rather annoyed at statements in 
New York papers. 

* vc ■;:- 7;- * * * 

I am, sir, yours most respectfully, 

THOS. N. MALLOY, 

United States Consul. 

To that I replied. 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, November 13, 1883. 
Mr. Thomas N. Malloy, 

United States Consul, St. John's, N. F. : 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 1st 
ultimo, announcing the departure of Lieutenant Garlington and party from St. John's, 
N. F., on the Y'antic, and expressing the desire of Captain Pike for an examination 
as to his management of the Proteus on her late voyage, and in reply to say that as 
the President has ordered a court of inquiry to investigate the conduct of the late relief 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, it is ^ot thought necessary for this office to take any 
action in connection with the matter. 

The court may desire to take Captain Pike's testimony orally or by deposition. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen., Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Q. No reply has been received to that ? — A. No reply. Referring to the 
testimony of Lieutenant Col well on page 93 — 

Q. Are not the sealing captains accustomed to navigate the ice '? — A. Not Arctic. 
Q. Such ice as you meet off the coast of Labrador ? — A. Not such ice as that. 

I would say that no captains are accustomed to navigation in ice such 
as is found in Smith's Sound and such as the Proteus met with, except on 
extraordinary occasions, such as may occur once in a great many years 
when vessels are specially sent into the Arctic regions, as the Polaris, the 
Neptune, and the Yantic, and the Proteus sent this year. Such experi- 
ence does not come to any captain more than once or twice in a life, and 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. Ill 

to niDety-uiue captains in one hundred, never at all. Captain Pike had 
already been once in that ice with Lieutenant Greely in 1881, which ^vas 
probably more than any other captain at St". John's ever had been, and had 
gathered general knowledge of Arctic work. No ships were sent into 
Smith's Sound after the Polaris left until Mr. Greely was sent in 1881, 
and probably there is not a ship sent into those waters on an average 
more than once in twenty years, at long periods of time. 

By the Court : 

Q. Are not these sealers in the habit of going as far north as the north- 
ern portion of Baffin's Bay ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Are they not apt to come in contact with that ice in that bav ? — A. 
Yes. 

Q, Do you not suppose they would get a great deal of experience in 
going up there ? — A. A great deal of experience, but not with the un- 
broken ice, such as is found in Smith's Sound. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Inasmuch as Lieutenant Colwell and Lieutenant Garlington testified 
that they met Arctic ice ofP Labrador, are not the sealers accustomed to 
encounter that same kind of ice and the ice also that comes down the east 
coast of Greenland and is swept out into Davis Straits ; that is, Arctic 
ice? — A. But it is not ice in the bed, such as is found in Smith's Sound. 
They can get into the floes when the ice separates. 

At this point (1.30 p. m.) the room was cleared and the doors closed for 
the purpose of deliberation by the court, and at 3 p. m. the doors Avere re- 
opened and the court adjourned until 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 
Thursday, November' 22, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of the proceedings of the previous day was 
read, including the testimony of the witnesses, which was read in their 
presence. The record having been amended was approved ; whereupon 

Lieutenant-Commander Bowman H. McCalla resumed the stand. 

The Witness. Referring to my testimony of yesterday in relation to 
the position for the steering compass, I will state that the position se- 
lected for it was conveniently near the wheel, that being the warmest 
place, to prevent freezing. Referring to the capacity of the boats I would 
add that the three boats I saw were capable of holding conveniently ten 
men each in moderately bad weather, with a month's provisions and a 
quart per day of water per man for two weeks. That is the best idea I 
can give in regard to the boats. The reason I only saw four vessels was 
that three or four of them were reported to be frozen up off the west coast 
of Newfoundland, from which they were not liberated until June. Two 
or three others had not come in from their second trip, or had gone out 
after coming in from their second trip. 



112 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Recorder: 

Q. You nre an assistant in the Bureau of Navigation ? — A. lam assist- 
ant to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and office of detail. 

Q. Do you know where the Yantic was stationed immediately preced- 
ing her detail for special service in connection with theGreely expedition? 
— A. She was in New York and had been attached to the North Atlantic 
station for nearly three years. It was her first commission. I mean by 
that that she was a new ship three years ago. 

Q. In making any alterations in a ship to prepare her for this service^ 
by whose orders would such alterations be made? — A. By the order of the 
Department. By that I mean the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q. AVhat is the complement in men of a ship of that' kind? 

The Witness. The Yantic? 

The Recorder. Yes, sir. 

A. About one hundred and thirty, full complement; that is to say in 
peace times. In war times she would have a slightly larger complement ; 
perhaps twenty more men. 

Q. What would be the smallest number of men who could properly 
handle her ? 

The Witness. You mean total complement, of course? 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. I should say that the smallest number of men that would be neces- 
sary for the Yantic, exclusive of men detailed for duty in cabins and ward- 
rooms and steerages, would be seventy, making her total complement on the 
average basis or allowance for men detailed for the service before mentioned 
about eighty-five, exclusi^^e of marines. 

Q,. Everybody on board ? — A. Yes, sir. The total complement, ex- 
clusive of commissioned and warrant officers, of course. 

By the Court : 

Q. Are you considering in that answer that the vessel had her arma- 
ment taken out of her? — A. Oh, yes, certainly ; she might, I suppose, 
get on with a much less number of men ; but I should not deem it pru- 
dent for her to go with less than the number I have mentioned. 

By the Recorder : 

Q.. And how many commissioned and warrant officers would she 
require? — A. She would require, in ray opinion, her full complement of 
officers for that service, which would be about twelve commissioned officers 
and four warrant officers or naval cadets ; that is ray opinion, formed since 
I have been sitting here. 

Q. About what is her tonnage? — A. I do not know how the Yantic's 
tonnage is measured; that is done in the Bureau of Construction and Re- 
pair by their own rules ; but her displacement is I think 900 tons ; the 
displacements of ships is the only method of comparing them, because the 
tonnage rules vary. 

Q. Then what would be aboat the displacement of the Proteus ? — A. I 
am unable to state ; not nearly so much ; if I had her draft of water and 
her measurements when loaded I could teb you ; I think the Yantic ton- 
nage is put down in the Naval Register ; her registered tonnage, or ton- 
nage by measurement, is about 400 ; I may be mistaken, although that is 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PIKXTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 113 

my impression ; but you cannot compare ships by tonnages of different 
countries. 

Q. Do you know anything respecting the interviews and negotiations 
between the War and Navy Departments about the sending of the Yan- 
tic ? — A. The first news tliat I had that the Yantic was going north was 
given me by General Hazen in Newfoundland upon receipt of a telegram 
from one of the officers in the Signal Office. On the 4th or 5th of June I 
was sent to General Hazen to request for the Navy Department a copy of 
the instructions to be given to Lieutenant Garlington in order that Com- 
mander Wildes might be made acquainted with them. I received from 
General Hazen a hektograph copy of instructions, a track-chart of the 
Neptune of the year before, and, I think, a pamphlet upon the subject of 
the Signal Office work in the Arctic. That is all I remember. 

Q. You do not recall anything that General Hazen said to you es- 
pecially ? — A. I recall nothing of the conversation. As soon as this copy 
was brought to General Hazen I returned to the Navy Department. 

Q. And the instructions for the Yantic were subsequently prepared ? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you see nothing of any other memorandum respecting what 
it was wished the Yantic should do, prepared in the Signal Office ? — 
A. All I have seen of that memorandum I think was what I saw in the 
newspaper press. If you would let me see a copy of it I would tell you 
at once. [A copy of Signal Service Notes No. 10 containing the memo- 
randum referred to was handed the witness, and said memorandum was 
pointed out to him.] I have seen this inclosure marked five. I think I 
saw it in the Navy Department under the head of " instructions " or 
" memorada for naval tender." 

By the Court : 

Q. Did you see it before or after the disaster to the Proteus ? — A. I 
saw it about June 4 or 5. 

Q,. Are you certain that you did not see it in the Signal Office ? — A. I 
am positive that I did not see it in the Signal Office. When I saw it it 
did not have on it the words " Office of Chief Signal Officer, Washing- 
ton, D. C, June 5, 1883." 

. By the Recorder : 

Q. Can you state under what circumstances you saw that paper at that 
time; in whose hands it was, how it got there, or what use was being 
made of it? — A. The memorandum that I speak of was in my hand. It 
was given me by Commodore Walker, the Chief of the Bureau of Navi- 
gation. It was after seeing the memorandum that I was sent over to 
General Hazen to ask for a copy of the instructions of Lieutenant Gar- 
lington. 

By the Court : 
Q. You are positive about that ? — A. I am positive about that ; that 
is, I could not identify this one, word for word, but it was the substance 
of this, and was headed "Memorandum" or "Instructions for naval 
tender." 

By the Recorder : 
Q. When you went over to General Hazen's office did you speak to 
S. Ex. 100 8 



114 PK0CEEDIN6S OF PROTEtTS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

him about that memorandum? — A. My conversation did not relate ira 
any way to the memorandum or the instructions for the officer to be in 
charge of the expedition. 

Q. That was the first day that you came to the Navy Department 
after returning from St. John's ? — A. It was the 4th or 5th of June, I am 
not certain which. 

Q. Do you remember whether it was the first day you came there after 
your return ? — A. No ; it was not the day. I could not state positively 
whether it was the second day. 

Q. Was General Hazen at the Department subsequently in reference to 
the matter, that you know of? — A. I never saw him there. By that you 
will understand that he might have been there a hundred times and I 
would not have seen him. 

Q. It appears from the papers here that no reply was ever made in 
writing to the request upon the War Department to ask the Navy De- 
partment for that tender, and that no copy of the instructions to the com- 
mander of the Yantic was ever furnished the Chief Signal Officer. Could 
you inform the court how that happened ? — A. I could not. I do not 
know anything about that. My impression is that Commander Wildes 
was directed in his orders to confer with Lieutenant Garlington and 
acquaint him with his instructions, which would have the eifect of hav- 
ing furnished the Signal Officer with his instructions. 

By the Court : 
Q,. You were not in position necessarily to know whether the instruc- 
tions were given ? — A. I had nothing to do with the instructions. By 
that I mean that my duty at the Navy Department has no connection with 
the orders or instructions to commanding officers. That is Department 
work. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Do you know what became of that memorandum ? — A. I do not. I 
put it on Captain Walker's desk or returned it to him. I know nothing 
further of it. 

By the Court : 
Q. You speak of having had this memorandum put in your hands "by 
Commodore Walker. Is it probable that the receipt of this memorandum 
caused you to be sent over to the Chief Signal Officer to ask for a copy of 
the instructions of Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. The cause of my being 
sent was that Commander Wildes' instructions were being prepared, and 
in order to send him a copy of Lieutenant Garlington's instructions I was 
sent to General Hazen to ask for them. 

William E. Chandler, Secretary of the Navy, being duly sworn, 
was examined as follows : 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Mr. Secretary, will you state to the court in your own way your 
knowledge of the application for a naval ship to accompany the Arctic 
relief expedition of 1883 and the interviews and negotiations that led to 
the granting of the request? — A. Some time prior to the 14th of May the 
request was made that a naval vessel should be sent with the Proteus, or 
the vessel which the Signal Office was to send to the relief of Lieutenant 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 115 

Greely. I had a conversation, I am quite sure, with Secretary Lincoln,, 
in which he stated the request of the War Department, that a naval vessel 
should go, and I informed him that the Navy Department would be 
very glad to send a vessel, and suggested a written request, in con- 
sequence of which the letter of May 14 was received. No formal 
answer was made to it, because the statement of a willingness to 
send a naval vessel had been previously made. Shortly after the 14th of 
May the Navy Department decided to send the Yantic, and Commodore 
Walker was requested by me to give attention to the subject of the in- 
structions to be given Commander Wildes, and I, either by direct request 
to the Signal Office or through Commodore Walker, orally requested that 
the Chief Signal Officer would see me with reference to those instructions. 
At this time Secretary Lincoln was absent and General Hazen also ; I think 
it was while General Hazen was at St. John's ; Secretary Lincoln went away 
the 18th of May and remained absent until June 6, and this request of mine 
for an interview with the Chief Signal Officer was probably not many days 
before the 4tliof June, when, I think. General Hazen returned from New- 
foundland ; Commodore Walker, I think, informed me that Captain Powell 
had called upon him with reference to the instructions, and I told Com- 
modore Walker that I wished to see Captain Powell in person, and the 
latter came to my office; I had an interview with him, the substance 
of which was this : I said to him that in joint expeditions of this kind 
differences frequently arose as to the measure of responsibility, and that 
as the naval vessel was to assist in an expedition that belonged to the War 
Department I desired that a request for the specific instructions to be given 
the commanding officer of the naval vessel should be furnished by him to 
the Navy Department. I remember also asking him whether he desired 
that the naval vessel should carry anything in the way of extra provisions 
or outfit for parties who might travel upon the ice, or for Lieutenant 
Garlington's party in case anything should happen to the Proteus, and 
he said no, he thought not. He m^y have said that he would con- 
sider that question and give a further reply. But I understood at 
that lime that the Yantic would not be expected to take anything in the 
way of outfit or stores beyond enough for her own purposes, but that the 
Proteus would carry everything. Shortly after this. Commodore Walker 
submitted to me the draft of the instructions and I went over them with 
him. I asked him if they were satisfactory to the Chief Signal Officer 
and he said they were. I saw no written memorandum from the Chief 
Signal Officer either at that or at any other time that I recollect. I left 
Washington myself on Thursday, June 7, and that was the reason the in- 
structions were signed by Admiral Nichols on Saturday. 

Q. The Saturday following? — A. The Saturday following, the 9th. 
Between June 4 and June 7, when I went away, General Hazen was at 
the Department, and I had a conversation with him, the substance of 
which was this : I said it gave us pleasure to send the naval vessel and 
that I hoped the instructions that had been given, or that were to be 
given, were satisfactory to him. He was then in Commodore Walker's 
private office, which is between the latter's public office and my private 
office, as I inferred conferring with Commodore Walker and Commander 
McCalla with reference to the instructions, and he said they were satis- 
fied with the instructions either that had been prepared or were being 
prepared. 



116 PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Couet : 
Q. That is, the instructions to Commander Wildes ? — A. Instructions 
to Commander Wildes ; yes, sir. You will notice that although they had 
been then settled by me with Commodore Walker according to my state- 
ment, they had not been actually signed, but were signed on the Saturday 
following by Admiral Nichols, the acting secretary. I either asked Gen- 
eral Hazen the question whether he did not desire the Yantic to carry 
some outfit and additional supplies, or referred to the fact that he did not 
desire it, and his reply was that they would not require anything of that 
kind except that the Yantic should go well fitted to take care of herself 
:and her own officers and crew, and to be at hand in case of an emer- 
gency. 

By the Recoeder : 
Q. What was done by way of preparation of the vessel for the voyage ? 
— A. The Yantic having been determined upon. Admiral Cooper, com- 
manding the jSTorth Atlantic squadron, to which the Yantic was then at- 
tached, was instructed by letter of May 31 as follows : 

Navy Depaetment, Washington., May 31, 1883. 

Sie: The War Department has asked that a naval vessel be sent up the west coast of 
Greenland as a means of relief for the party at Lady Franklin Bay and the steamer go- 
ing to the Arctic for the purpose of bringing the party away should any disaster occur. 

You will be pleased to send the United States steamer Yantic to the navy-yard with 
orders to get ready for that service as soon as practicable. 

* * -A * -X- * * 

Very respectfally, 

WM. E. CHANDLER, 

Secretary of the Navy. 
Rear- Admiral Geo. H. Coopee, U. S. N., 

Commanding North Atlantic Squadron, New York. 

The Yantic had been at the West Indies, but on the 25th of February, 
1883, had arrived at Pensacola, visited' Mobile on the 6th of March, New 
Orleans on the 14th of March, sailed from New Orleans for Key West 
April 2, arrived at Key West April 6, and between April 9 and May 
6 visited Savannah and Charleston and arrived at Hampton Roads on 
the 6th of May, where she was with the flagship Tennessee with the ad- 
miral on board. On the 20th of May she sailed from Hampton Roads 
for New York, and May 22 arrived at New York and anchored off the 
Battery. On the 2d of June Admiral Cooper gave Commander Wildes 
this letter of instructions, both vessels, as you will see, then being in New 
York Harbor. 

United States Flagship Tennessee (1st rate), 

Navy-yard, New York, June 2, 1883. 

SiK : The War Department has asked that a naval vessel be sent up the west coast of 
Greenland as a means of relief for the party at Lady Franklin Bay and the steamer go- 
ing to the Arctic for the purpose of bringing the party away should any disaster occur. 

This request has been approved by the Navy Department, and the United States 
steamer Yantic, under your command, has been selected for the service. 

You will be pleased to prepare the Yantic for the above-mentioned service, and as the 
season is already somewhat advanced it is necessary that your vessel should be gotten 
ready at the earliest moment possible. You will ask the commandant of the New York 
navy-yard to hasten your preparations, and will explain to him the urgency of the case. 

In making your preparations you will bear in mind that your vessel may be absent a 
long time from port and from depots of supplies, and that she may encounter severe and 
stormy weather and ice. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 117 

You will report to me when ready also once eacli week should your preparations oc- 
cupy a longer period. 

The address of the commander-in-chief is " U. S. flagship Tennessee, general post- 
office, New York City. ' ' 
Very respectfully, 

G. H. COOPER, 
Bear Admiral^ ComcVg U. S. naval force on North Atlantic Station. 
Commander Feank Wildes, U. S. N., 

Commanding U. S. S. Yantic, navy-yard, New York. 
A true copy : 

J. N. MiLLEK, 

Captain, U. 8. Navy, Chief of Staff. 

The Yantic went alongside of the dry-dock on the 2d of June. She 
went into dry-dock the 7th of June and out of dry-dock the 12th of June, 
during which time I suppose the plank sheathing was put upon her bows. 
I gave instructions early to Commodore Walker, notwithstanding no re- 
quest was made from the Signal Office, to take the heavy weights off the 
ship and fill her up with coal, and also specially to have a large supply of 
provisions put on board. On the 4th of June Commodore Walker, being 
in New York, with Commodore Upshur visited the Yantic and gave di- 
rections for taking off the ordnance, and made oral suggestions to Lieu- 
tenant Gibson who was then in command. Commander Wildes not being 
upon the ship. This is an extract from the log-book of June 4, 1883, which 
says: 

From meridian to 4 p. m. Commodore J. H. Upshur, United States Navy, and Cap- 
tain John Walker visited the ship. 

W. C. GIBSON, Lieutenant. 

The actual instructions or sailing orders to Commander Wildes were 
not signed until June 9, for the reason that it is not the practice to issue 
sailing orders until a few days before the ship leaves. They are purposely 
held back. But Commander Wildes knew where the sl\ip was going 
about as well as anybody connected with the naval establishment. I have 
examined to see what the information at the Navy Department was in 
reference to the condition of the boilers of the Yantic, and I find that the 
boilers were built by the Providence Steam Engine Company, and deliv- 
ered in August, 1877, erected at the Washington yard, and fitted for sea- 
service in September, 1880. That is, they had been three years in the ship 
when the Yantic returned to New York. The last official report of the 
engineer of the ship, prior to her going to St. John's, is as follows : 

Extracts from quarterly report of United States steamer Yantic, for quarter ending March 31, 

1883. 

Present condition of boilers fair. 

The boilers have been scaled and thoroughly cleaned with the exception of the inner 
surfaces of the back tube sheets, which are inaccessible on account of the closeness to- 
gether of the boiler braces. An effort has been made at different times tO' remove some 
of these, but it was found impossible in the limited time that the boilers have been out 
of use during the quarter. 

Three new socket bolts have been put in the water legs. The greater part of the tubes 
in Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 11 furnaces have had to be re-expanded on the back ends. 
All the above work, together with the usual amount of inspection, overhauling, packing, 
making up new ioints, &c. , has been performed by men of the Department. 

WALTER D. SMITH, 

Chief Engineer, U. S. N. 

Frank Wildes, U. S. N., Commander, Commanding. 

The report of Fleet Engineer Brooks, dated May 14, 1883, contains the 
following: : 

Boilers to be in good condition, except in back connections and some leaky tubes, which 



118 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

can be re-expanded; crown sheets will be cleaned off here, but tubes will not be scaled 
at present. 

The 1st day of June the Chief of the Bureau of Construction in writing 
directed Commodore Upshur to proceed to do the work necessary to fit the 
Yantic to go to the west coast of Greenland, as follows : 

[No. 121.] 

Navy Department, 
Bureau of Construction and Repair, 

Washington, June 1, 1883. 
Commodore J. H. Upshur, U. S. N. , 

Commandant Navy-yard, New Yorlc : 
Sir: The Yantic having been ordered by the Department to go up the west coast of 
Greenland as a relief ship, you will please direct that any necessary work preliminary 
to sending her on that duty be done with all practicable dispatch. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. D. WILSON, 
■ Chief of Bureau. 

I have not ascertained the quantity of provisions that were on board, 
but have directed a statement to be prepared which I will furnish the 
court if it is desired. I procured the statements as to the provisions that 
were on the Yantic August 3 and September 15, which, I believe, are 
already in evidence, attached to Commander AVildes' report. I have had 
prepared an estimate of the number of days' rations for the crew which 
those supplies would furnish. It was prepared in the Bureau of Provisions 
and Clothing, from which, assuming one hundred and twenty-four men to 
have been on board August 3, it will be seen that there were one hun- 
dred and nineteen days' meat rations, with bread and other ac- 
companying rations, which, I should judge, would have furnished 
full and ample subsistence according to the Navy rations for more than 
one hundred and nineteen days. That was August 3. The statement 
which I have assumes one hundred and twenty-nine men to have been on 
board September 15, when the ship reached New York, inasmuch as five 
had been taken on board at St. John's September 14, and there were then 
meat rations for one hundred and twenty-nine men for eighty-seven days. 
In other words, say four months' full rations were on board when the ship 
on August 3 left Littleton Island, and there were brought back to St. 
John's full rations for three months. I believe this is all the statement 
that I desire to make in answer to your general question as to what I 
know about the Yantic. 

Q. I will ask you if the Yantic was the most available ship for the 
purpose at the time she was designated ? — A. She was so considered by 
the Department, being at hand and the smallest ship. 

Q. There was no authority in the Department M that time to purchase 
or charter a ship for such a purpose under your general authority as head 
of the Department ? — A. I would not undertake to say that. No such 
request was made of us. We were not asked to furnish an ice-ship, and 
of course no ship, whether large or small, unless her bows were specially 
prepared for it, would be a good ice-ship. 

Q. The furnishing of that ship was in conformity with all the re- 
quests made upon your Department ? — A. Understood to be in precise 
conformity to the requests. The letter of General Hazen to the Secretary 
of War of the 14th of May expressly says that the ship would not be re- 
quired to enter the ice. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 119 

Q. Or to be placed in a condition of unusual danger ? — A. The ex- 
pression is : 

She need not enter the ice-pack nor encounter any unusual danger. 
I suppose General Hazen inserted that because it had been understood, in 
the oral conversations preceding, that we would be able to conform to a 
request for a vessel under these conditions, but that the Department was 
not able to furnish an ice- vessel. 

Q,. Did the instructions to Commander Wildes, as you understand them, 
contemplate his furnishing any portion of his stores and supplies for the 
use of the Greely party ? — A. I hardly know how to answer that ques- 
tion. It calls for an opinion, and I would prefer at this time not to give 
opinions, unless the court think they are important. Of course I may 
say for myself that one object in increasing the provisions was to be pre- 
pared for any emergency which might happen to either vessel. But there 
was no suggestion that the Proteus party would require them, but rather 
the contrary on the part of the Chief Signal Officer that they would not 
need any. 

By the Court.: 
Q. Who determined upon what had to be done to the Yantic in order 
to prepare her for her trip, such as sheathing her bows ? Was that left 
to Commander Wildes' discretion or to the commanding officer of the 
navy-yard, or were there any special instructions given from the Navy De- 
partment? — A. There were no special instructions given, and nothing done 
by me beyond, what is expressed in the letters except the request to Com- 
modore Walker to give some personal attention to the subject, which he 
did by his visit of June 4. It is a little difficult to say under the system 
that prevails under the departmental organization who is most directly re- 
sponsible for what goes on. I should say that Commander Wildes was 
bound to make suggestions of anything that he thought ought to be done 
to fit his vessel oat. Being instructed as he was by Admiral Cooper's 
letter of the 2d of June he was bound to do the best he could to fit her 
out and to make suggestions to the commandant of the yard. You will 
see by the letter that he was instructed : 

You will be pleased to prepare the Yantic for the above-mentioned service. 

In making your preparations, you vrill bear in mind that your vessel may be absent a 
long time from port and from depots of supplies, and that she may encounter severe and 
stormy weather and ice. 

I think there was a measure of responsibility for her outfit upon the 
Department at Washington, upon the commandant of the navy-yard, and 
upon the commander of the vessel. 

Q. I suppose that your expectation was that the Yantic should go as 
far as Littleton Island if she could do so without endangering the safety 
of the vessel ; that is, that she should not put herself in any positive dan- 
ger? — A. Those were the orders, and I expected the commander to comply 
with the orders. 

Q. Of course you did not expect that such a vessel as the Yantic could 
go through such ice as the Proteus which was actually prepared for such 
work? — A. Evidently not. 

The court directed that a letter written under its instruction by the 
recorder and by him handed to General Hazen yesterday should be 



120 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

attached to the record of to-day's proceedings, which is accordingly attached^ 
marked Exhibit D, and is as follows : 

Exhibit D. 

Rooms of Court of Inquiry, 
(Appointed by Special Orders 249 C. S., Par. 3, A. G. O., October 31, 1883), 

November 20, 1883. 
To Brigadier-General Hazen , 

Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sib : I am instructed by the court to advise you that the court has taken into due 
consideration your suggestion that the attendance of Mr. Malloy, U. S. consul at St, 
John's, Newfoundland; of Mr. Syme, agent for the owners of the ship Proteus; and of 
Mr. Pike, her master, be invited in prder that they may testify in relation to the equip- 
ment of the ship and the character of her crew when she sailed on her last voyage, it 
having been alleged that such equipment was defective and the conduct of the crew on 
such voyage not altogether good. The court has likewise deliberated upon your sugges- 
tion that Captain Clapp of the Sixteenth Infantry should be summoned from his distant 
station as a witness to testily with what care and deliberation the plan and outfit of the 
expedition of 1883 was considered and prepared in the office of the Chief Signal Officer of 
the Army. 

This coui't is anxious to receive and duly weigh all material evidence that can be ad- 
duced respecting the history of the expeditions of 1883 and of prior years, but at the same 
time it is solicitous of confining the inquiry within its legitimate limits, and to avoid 
as far as possible entering into collateral or remote questions that might make this in- 
vestigation almost interminable. 

With regard to the testimony proposed to be invited from witnesses at St. John's^ the 
main question before the court under this head is believed to be: Did the Chief Signal 
Officer make every effort incumbent upon him to obtain a properly equipped ship and a 
suitable crew, and what measures were taken by him for that purpose ? If everything 
possible was done in that direction, the subsequent conduct of the crew was clearly a 
matter not under his control. Moreover, no testimony has yet been received that either 
the nature of the equipment or the conduct of the seamen shipped materially affected 
the final results of the expedition. 

In regard to Captain Clapp, the question is, what is there material to the inquiry re- 
specting the acts of the Signal Office that this officer may know, and that the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer or any other witness now in this city does not know, or that the records of 
the office do not show ? 

The court, therefore, requests that you will prepare and present to this court, at your 
earliest convenience, a statement showing what you expect that each of the witnesses 
named may prove, and how such expected testimony would be material to the case. 

And the court would further suggest that it might facilitate the preparation of such 
statement if you should communicate with the persons named by telegrajih. 
Very respectfully, your oljedient servant, 

HENRY GOODFELLOW, 

Recorder of the Court. 

General Hazen appeared, and presented and read to the conrt his re- 
ply to the foregoing letter, which is attached hereto, marked Exhibit E, 
as follows : 

Exhibit E. 

Washington, D. C, November 22, 1883. 
Major Henry Goodfellow, 

Judge-Advocate and Recorder of Court of Inquiry : 
In reply to your letter of the 20th instant, requesting that I prepare a statement show- 
ing what I expect each of the witnesses named in my request of the 20th may prove, and 
how such expected testimony would be material to the case now under consideration, I 
would respectfully state that there is now testimony before the court that the Proteus 
was not suitably manned, equipped, and officered. That her crew were not sailors, but 
were mutinous beachcombers and 'longshoremen ; that her captain was not efficient nor 
acquainted with ice navigation, and that her other officers were without experience in 
the ice; that in the organization of the expedition — meaning myself and the other officers 
of the Signal Service — having charge of these matters, had not studied the subject, and 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 121 

that the means employed for the expedition were inadequate. In short, that my duties 
in connection with these expeditions had been carelessly and incompetently performed. 
All this tends to show a culpable and almost criminal neglect of duty. There has been 
in this testimony a radical error of facts, which it is very necessary to correct. 

I recognize in it the familiar custom seen when regular forces come in contact with 
citizen or irregular forces, judging from certain standards of their own, the citizen force 
is jeered at and maligned by the other. At the beginning of the late war the volunteer 
force in its dirty coats, baggy breeches, and greasy equipment was with young regular 
officers the constant theme of ridicule and contempt, and judged from the standpoint of 
a regular inspector in those particulars they would have had no standing. But we all 
know that under that equipment there was the best soldier ever put in the field. I rec- 
ognize the same spirit in this case. The young officers of the Navy did not find in the 
equipment, clothing, discipline, and general appearance what would pass their regular 
Navy standards. But I propose to show from the witnesses from St. Johns, what I 
know to be true, that the Proteus was not only the best ship available, but was an 
admirable ship in all respects, including her equipment, for the purposes required of her ; 
that her captain was not only thoroughly proficient, but an officer of long service and 
experience in ice navigation, and was superior to any other captain that I could have 
employed, and that her other officers were not only experienced, but very competent. 
And I believe I will prove that her crew was composed of good and experienced ice sea- 
men, as I was promised they should be. 

I expect to prove by Captain Clapp that in December, 1881, I placed in his hands the 
whole subject of Arctic work, charging him to give it constant and careful study, to con- 
sult all authorities to be found in the libraries of this city, and such persons of actual expe- 
rience in Arctic work as were to be found, and to bring to my attention everything of 
value upon the subject, and to perfect for the then coming expedition to the Arctic 
regions such plans resulting from all this study as should seem best suited to that 
purpose, and that from that time till July, 1883, when he was relieved from duty in 
my office under the operation of an act of Congress, he was engaged in such study and 
preparation, holding Itequent interviews and consultations with me upon these subjects, 
during which time he did prepare two expeditions for Lady Frankfin Bay and two to 
Point Barrow, with the best of food, clothing, boats, sleds, and everything else essential 
to the progress of that work, or, in short, that during all this period of twenty months, 
and up to the sailing of the Proteus, very careful and adequate study and consideration 
was given to the subjects I am charged as neglecting. 

I expect to prove by General Hawkins that upon my requisitions he carefully selected, 
bought, and shipped, both by the Neptune in 1882 and the Proteus in 1883, in ample 
quantities, the freshest and best outfit of subsistence stores that it was possible to get in 
the markets of the United States. I expect to prove also tliat the means were not only 
adequate but were selected and prepared with that care which only high devotion to a 
sacred duty can give. 

The bearing of all this upon the subjects before this court of inquiry is that a failure 
to do those duties properly would subject me by the terms of the order convening the 
court and by good administration to trial by a general court-martial, which I would 
amply deserve. 

I neglected none of these duties, and when that fact is questioned the right to prove . 
in the most unequivocal manner that I did not neglect them I claim as my right. 

It is stated in substance in your letter that so long as it is shown in court that proper 
efforts were made by the Chief Signal Officer to do all these things he could not be held 
accountable for what might happen afterward. The world, as well as this court, places 
a very different estimate upon a man who tries to do his work well and does it, from one 
who does not do it well, no matter how hard he tries. 

I propose to prove to this court beyond all reasonable doubt that this work was well 
done to the last, and I wish the pri-\dlege of proving it. 

I will add that telegrams to be answered in writing will in all probability in a few 
days bring all I require. 

There is no claim by any one that the crew of the Proteus failed to obey any order, 
or to do its duty before the disaster, and I wish to prove the fact that by law and custom 
in those waters the fact of shipwreck itself discharges all hands. There is no longer 
pay nor officers, and when any of those men after the sinking of the Proteus failed to 
obey promptly the captain, they did so not from a spirit of mutiny but because under 
their laws and customs he had no authority over them. 
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

John Stewart Harrison, actiDg assistant surgeon in the United 
States Army, was then duly sworn and examined, as follows : 



122 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Recorder : 

Question. You are an acting assistant surgeon in the Army ? — Answer. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. How long have you been so? — A. I was appointed the 1st of last 
June. 

Q. Did you accompany the Arctic expedition under the command of 
Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. From New York? — A. I sailed from New York on the Yantic on 
the 13th of June, 1883. 

Q. And arrived at St. John's when? — A. On the 21st of June. 

Q,. You have read carefully the reports of Lieutenant Garlington of 
the history and results of that expedition ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do they to your knowledge present a faithful account thereof? — A. 
They do, sir. 

Q,. Do you know anything of the conduct of the crew after the disaster, 
as recently spoken of? — A. They acted in the most scoundrelly manner 
possible ; they acted like pirates. 

Q. Explain to the court what you mean. — A. As soon as the ship was 
nipped it was necessary for the provisions to be got on deck ; Lieutenant 
Garlington, with his party attended to breaking out the cargo ; I was 
ordered to the cabin to save what I could there; on my expeditions to and 
ftom the vessel I saw several of the crew picking up clothing ; I asked 
where they were carrying it, and they said it was presented to them ; I 
was not able to do anything, being intent upon saving what provisions I 
could ; they did nothing in the first part as regards saving provisions ; I 
saw several of them sitting smoking and drinking on the ice ; finally, 
towards the last, the steward of the Proteus commenced breaking out the 
canned goods, and finally the crew and Mr. Pike, the mate, commenced 
saving provisions and also getting out sails for a tent. 

Q. So far as Lieutenant Garlington and his party were concerned, was 
everything possible done to save stores ? — A. To my knowledge it was. 

Q. What do you know about Captain Pike, if anything ; what opinion 
did you form of his abilities and character while you were with him ? — A. 
The opinion I have formed of him, as far as I could judge, is that he was 
not up to the standard which a shipmaster should reach. 

Q. State the facts upon which you base that opinion, — A. They are 
these : After we left Godhaven Harbor, on the 16th of July, we stopped at 
the Fjord, there to pick up an Eskimo driver. Going along an unknown 
coast Captain Pike did not sound at all, and v/e struck upon a rock there 
in the morning. He seemed not to make such efforts in the direction of 
soundings as a sailor should, passing along an unknown coast. Another 
time, in going into Egdesminde Harbor, he neglected to make soundings, 
trusting simply to the Eskimo pilot, and we ran aground, but in backing 
out fortunately no damage was done. 

Q. You accompanied Lieutenant Colwell in his boat as far as Cape 
York? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you see or hear of any mutinous demonstrations by the crew 
of the Proteus? — A. It was reported to me by one of our party that our 
stores and boats should be watched because some of them would want to 
raid our stores and take one or both of our boats. 

Q. One of your party reported that ? — A. Yes, sir. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COUET OF INQUIRY. 123 

Q. Who was that? — A. I think it was Sergeant Kenney, and I ad- 
vised him to report it to Lieutenant Garlington at once. 

Q. Where is Sergeant Kenney ? — A. He is now in the city ; . he has been 
discharged from the Army, and I think has since been appointed a mem- 
ber of the metropolitan police force of this city. 

By the Court : 
Q. Did he give you any reason for that opinion ? — A. No ; he said he 
had heard it; he gave me nothing definite. 

Q. How did the crew of the Proteus behave up to the time of the sink- 
. ing of the ship ? — A. There was no trouble before that in any way. 

Q. Did you consider it a pretty good crew prior to that time? — A. I 
was told in St. John's that the regular crew, on account of the contract 
being delayed, would not ship, and that these men were picked up any- 
where. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. By whom were you told that? — A. Captain Pike. He said that 
he could not get his own crew, the men that he wished to pick out to sail 
with him, but he had to pick up any he could get on account of most of 
the best men having gone away on the fisheries. 

By the Court : 
Q. Did Captain Pike express any opinion to you in regard to the 
crew ? — A. Nothing further than that before mentioned. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. After the disaster did you hear him express any disapprobation of the 
conduct of his crew?— A. I am not certain where, but I think it was when 
on the ice, he said that he had no power to restrain the men from pillaging, 
and though I do not remember his exact words his intimations were that 
they were scoundrels, though I have forgotten whether he used that ex- 
pression or not ; but that is what I inferred from him. 

Q. You have attended the examination of the witnesses here, I believe, 
with a good deal of regularity ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Are you able to give this court any information that has not already 
been communicated to it with reference to the expedition and the causes of 
its failure ? — A. Nothing more than what has been said, because I know 
nothing as far as it was officially concerned. I saw no orders and knew 
nothing of them except what was published in the papers. 

Q. You do not know anything of your own knowledge of interest that 
you think would be valuable for this court to know ? — A. No, sir ; I do 
not recall anything. 

The Recorder. [To the court.] I merely called this witness to see 
if he was able to furnish any new information on the subject, he having 
been a member of Lieutenant Garlington's party. 

A*; this point (2 o'clock p. m.) the room was cleared and the doors closed 
for the purpose of deliberation by the court, and after one hour spent 
therein the doors were reopened and the court (at 3 o'clock p. m.) ad- 
journed until 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



124 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Washington, D. C, 
Friday, November 23, 1883 — 11 .o'clock a. m. 
The court met pursiiaut to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of the previous clay's proceedings was read, 
the testimony of Lieutenant-Commander McCalla and Dr. Harrison being 
read in their presence. The record being corrected was approved. The 
recorder stated that the Chief Signal Officer desired to make a statement 
to the court in continuation of his testimony ; whereupon 

General William B. Hazen resumed the stand and proceeded as fol- 
lows : 

The Witness. It seems to be proper that I should say something as to 
the reason why there was no request made to the JSTavy Department to 
put on extra supplies. Time was becoming an element of the greatest 
iniportance, and I wished to do nothing that should cause any delay. 
Being satisfied that the Yantic would take such ample provisions of her 
own stores as to do for all hands, including Mr. Greely's party in case of 
an emergency, I preferred to rest on that rather than make any requestor 
suggestion that by any possibility could consume time ; that is, I con- 
sidered time more important than any further preparation. I here wish 
to bear testimony to the most ready and hearty co-operation and help on 
the part of the Navy, and especially by the Secretary and Commodore 
Walker in everything connected with this matter. 

By the Recordee : 

Q. Were you informed or were you aware of the amount of rations the 
Yantic was to take? — A. Not definitely; but I was satisfied from the con- 
versation I had with Commodore Walker, though I will not be certain 
how I was satisfied, that she would take a large supply, sufficient for all 
the emergencies which might arise. 

Q,. Do you remember whether it was known to you at the time of the 
departure of Mr. Garlington what amount of provisions Lieutenant 
Greely had at Lady Franklin Bay ? — A. We knew from the same sources 
of information as we now know. We were then possessed of the same in- 
formation we now have. 

Q,. Was it actually known to you at the time ? 

The Witness. What Mr. Greely had ? 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. Oh, certainly. 

Q. Did Captain Powell communicate to you when you returned from 
St. John's what the Secretary testifies he had told him ; that the respon- 
sibility for the expedition must rest upon the Army and not upon the 
Navy as to the details of the expedition ? — A. I cannot recollect what he 
said about it. He said something of that nature which came from the 
Secretary of the Navy. 

The Recorder. I would like to ask General Hazen Avith reference to 
one matter presented in his letter to the court yesterday. Whether, in 
view of the fact that it is expected to prove that the crew was discharged 
from their contract and allegiance to the vessel, he thinks that it would 
be material to show that they did behave in an exactly proper manner or 
were not guilty of any disorders ? 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 125 

General Hazen^. The general tenor of the testimony is such as to leave 
the impression that the crew was badly selected ; that is, was a mean 
crew ; and I would like to establish the fact, if I can, that it was a proper 
crew; I will say I have felt a great deal in this matter, because I had 
given the whole subject a degree of care and attention which I scarcely 
ever gave to any subject in my life. 

The Recorder. I would like to recall Lieutenant Garlington as to one 
point only at this time. 

Lieut. Eejstest A. Garlington recalled and examined as follows : 
By the Recorder : 

Q. I think you testified that the provisions taken out by your expedi- 
tion were of an excellent quality ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You referred in your testimony to the provisions supplied at New 
York? — A. I referred to everything I had, with the exception of the skin 
clothing and the pemmican, as to which Lieutenant Colwell testified. 

Q. That is what I wish to inquire about. — A. There were some few ar- 
ticles among the stores left at St. John's by Mr. Beebe of the year before, 
principally some Danish berries which had been secured as antiscorbutics. 
They had deteriorated. 

Q. In regard to this pemmican especially, that was the pemmican left by 
Mr. Beebe on his return from his trip in 1882 ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. So far as stores procured in 1883 were concerned you found them 
all to be of what quality ? — A. All to be of as good quality as could be 
gotten. The clothing was furnished by the Quartermaster's Department. 
The Buifalo coats were furnished by the Quartermaster's Department and 
were of good quality generally. Some were not so good. Some of the 
hides of the coats were not well tanned, and when they got wet they be- 
came very offensive. That was the only objection to them. The subsistence 
stores were excellent. 

Q. Now, how much of this pemmican do you estimate was spoiled ? — A. 
I think that at least half of it was unserviceable. None, of it tasted good 
to me. I had never seen any of that kind of pemmican before, and I really 
cannot say positively to what extent it was spoiled. 

Q. Do you know where that pemmican was obtained ? — A. It was made 
in Baltimore. It seemed to be musty, dry, and not at all palatable. 
The men would not eat it at all coming down. I issued it to some of 
the men on the retreat and they ate scarcely any of it, and I gave most of 
it to the crew of the Proteus. They got out of meat. 

Q. Did they attempt to eat it cooked or raw ? — A. I think they heated 
it over. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did General Hawkins, of the Commissary Department of the Army, 
who selected these subsistence stores at New York, make any remark to 
you about their quality ? — A. He did. 

Q. What was it ? — A. He said that they were the best lot of commis- 
sary stores that had ever been sent out of New York ; anyway that they 
were as good as had ever been sent. General Hawkins Avas very much 
interested in the subject, and I had a good many conversations with him 
about it, and he made a good many suggestions which I adopted in refer- 



126 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

ence to goods to be bought, and valuable suggestions as to antiscorbutics^ 
and made several suggestions in other things. The first list that was sub- 
mitted was revised. I went over to New York and had a consultation 
with him and revised it in accordance with his suggestion. It was then 
submitted again to the Commissary-General, and the material points were 
approved and the goods were purchased on the amended requisition. 
There was some clothing bought in St. John's, but the heavy flannel 
drawers were all made too short. They were of good material, but they 
did not fit the men. But that was not a very serious objection to them. 
When I asked about them it was explained that they were made to wear 
with the long stockings those people up there wear. 

Q. You were on duty in the Signal Office from some time in February 
until you started on the expedition ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. What were you engaged upon during that time? — A. I was en- 
gaged in making out these requisitions for the provisions and getting 
clothing and material for the expedition. 

Q. Did you have any conversations with any of the authorities in the 
Signal Office in regard to the instructions that would be necessary when 
you started on the expedition ? — A. I had some general conversation with 
Captain Clapp and may have had some general conversation with other 
officers, but no official conversation. I purposely made no suggestion at 
all with reference to my instructions from the beginning. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Were you asked to make any ? — A. The rough draft of the instruc- 
tions prepared by Captain Clapp was referred to me, as it was referred to 
all the officers of the Department. 

By the Court : 

Q. Those instructions embodied what you were expected to do should 
you be unable to get as far north as Lady Franklin Bay, such as if you 
were to stop in the ice that you were to cache provisions and return to 
Littleton Island. • Was the subject ever broached and discussed as to what 
should be done should the Proteus sink ? — A. No, I remember no such 
discussion. 

Q. The matter was never discussed as to what should be done in case 
you got caught in the ice and your vessel got nipped and sunk and left 
you on the ice ? — ^A. I never discussed it with any official of the Signal 
Office, nor did anybody discuss it with me or in my hearing. 

Q. And there were no instructions given, either verbally or in writing, 
to you as to what should be done in case the vessel should go to the bot- 
tom? — A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Had you any knowledge, beyond that communicated to you in your 
instructions, of what amount of supplies Lieutenant Greely had at Lady 
Franklin Bay? — A. I had seen the list of supplies Lieutenant Greely 
had, but I had never figured on it. I did not know how long those sup- 
plies were intended to last him, or would last him, except what I was 
told, and I always understood until I came back here fom the Arctic 
regions that Lieutenant Greely's supplies would be exhausted at the end 
of August, 1883. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 127 

By the Court : 
Q. But you do not think so now, do you ? — A, From what I have been 
told since I returned I think that he has quite a large quantity of supplies 
left over. As to my instructions, it will be seen from the records here 
that I made no suggestion or recommendation with regard to the instrucv 
tions from the beginning. When I found that my instructions were being 
prepared for me by Captain Clapp, and being submitted to heads of division 
in the Signal Office, I determined that I would make no suggestions one way 
or the other. I did not desire to divide the responsibility, because I ap- 
preciated the difficulties that would arise in case anything happened, and if 
I made suggestions in conjunction with everybody that it would be impos- 
sible to fix the responsibility in any way in regard to these instructions. 
When it was not left to me to make my suggestions and submit them to 
the Chief Signal Officer, but taken out of my hands, I let it remain out 
and made up my mind to go on and carry out those instructions as well as 
I could. But I did not want any division of responsibility with every 
officer in the Department. In that connection and in regard to that memo- 
randum I state emphatically and unequivocally that I did not express an ap- 
proval of that memorandum for the same reason, and for the additional reason 
in reference to that clause relating to landing supplies at Littleton Island, I 
never saw and I cannot see now why it should be put in a memorandum 
to be furnished to the Navy Department to form a basis of instructions 
to be given to the naval tender, and the only remark that I can recall — 
and I have studied over the subject as much as I can, endeavoring to call 
it to mind as much as possible — that I made to Lieutenant Caziarc in 
reference to that clause was to ask him the question what would become 
of me if the ship was frozen in above Littleton Island, or I had to go 
into winter quarters, in case I left all my stores at that point, and he an- 
swered that point by saying it would probably be well to leave half of 
them. To that I made no reply. I studiously avoided giving any official 
expression of an opinion on that paper; and I will say also that I never 
knew he had been ordered to make the paper. I always thought that 
that paper was prepared by him, as I testified before, to facilitate matters^ 
because there had been a good deal of talk in the office about the delay and 
the difficulty in getting things done by the Acting Chief Signal Officer. 
I also knew of the existence of that telegram that General Hazen sent 
from St. John's or Halifax directing them to take no step in the instruc- 
tions until he came back. 

By the Court : 
Q,. Why could not the material for the instructions have been got to- 
gether before he went to Halifax ? You had from the 1st of March. — 
A. I do not know. I am confident the instructions were begun in the 
latter part of April, and that the original draft of instructions had been 
submitted to General Hazen before he went to St. John's, because when it 
was referred to me — when I saw it — it had the changes made by General 
Hazen in it then, in his own handwriting. In fact, when I saw it those 
were the only amendments that had been made to it, and they were by 
General Hazen himself; that was before he went to St. John's. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You do not mean to say that it would not have been a wise measure 



128 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

to land a large portion of your supplies, say half, or even a third, or 
fourth, at Littleton Island, or in that neighborhood on your way up ? — 
A. I think if stores had been landed at all they should have been landed 
on the other coast. 

Q. The reason for landing them at Littleton Island or Life-Boat Cove 
seems to have been that Mr, Greely was expected to regard that as his 
objective point ?^A. He had to pass by the other point, though, to get 
there. 

Q. I suppose his route would depend very much upon the condition of 
the ice, however, and that was his final objective point. — A. Lieutenant 
Greely's plan was, and he indicated that there would be no departure from 
it, that he was to come by Cape Sabine, and that was the condition upon 
which the party stationed at Life- Boat Cove was to watch closely and keep 
their telescopes on Cape Sabine. 

Q. I observe by the map that on the 2d and 3d of August you were 
at Saunders' Island, on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of August you were just 
below Cape Athol, and on the 8th, 9th, and lOtli to the 16th of August 
you were in the neighborhood of Cape York ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. That on her way up the Yantic was on August 2 about twenty 
miles off Cape Dudley Diggs and on her way down she was at S. E. 
Carey Islands August 5, and August 10 on her way down she was again 
opposite Cape Dudley Diggs. Now, do you not think that if there had 
been more places of rendezvous between Cape York and Littleton Island 
you would undoubtedly have met ? — A. No, sir. When the Yantic left Lit- 
tleton Island she made a due course for Cape Isabella. 

Q. But I mean suppose you had made an arrangement with Com- 
mander Wildes that you would look for him at any one place where he 
could leave a record and to which he should return, and so on ? — A. In 
general of course the more points you agree upon at which to meet the 
more probability there is of meeting ; I do not think that the establish- 
ment of cairns at those places along there would have made it any more 
certain that we would meet each other. 

Q. Not the mere establishment of cairns, but if the agreement had 
been that the Yantic should stop at certain places and leave a record that 
she had passed there and then returned on her way south, you would have 
gone to these places, and finding the record that she had gone north you 
would remain there with the certainty that you would be taken up? — A. 
That would depend upon the circumstances of the case. We might have 
gone there and we might not. A good many of those places we could not 
get into. It depended upon the state of the ice, the weather, and the 
wind. But, as I say, the more places of that sort agreed upon the more 
likelihood of forming a junction, probably. 

Q. Did it not occur to you to make a more definite arrangement in that 
respect, as you were doubtful that the vessel might get to Littleton Is- 
land ? — A. No, sir ; it did not occur to me. I thought that it was covered 
by the agreement we entered into. I knew that if the Yantic ever suc- 
ceeded in getting through Melville Bay there would be no difficulty in her 
going to Littleton Island or that vicinity. The obstruction that I antici- 
pated was always in Melville Bay. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 129 

Commodore John G. Walker recalled and examined as follows : 
By the Court : 

Q,. You have already stated that the sides of the Yantic were sheathed 
to prevent the ice cutting them. What other preparations were made 
to prepare her for the special service in question, either at the time of 
your visit to her at the Brooklyn navy-yard or at any other time ? — 
A. At the time of my visit directions were given to land her battery 
and her ordnance stores for the purpose of allowing additional coal and 
additional provisions and supplies to be carried, and the commandant of 
the yard had an order to do all and anything that was necessary to fit her 
for that service. Those orders were sent by the Chief Constructor of the 
Navy, He had verbal orders to the same effect from me, to go ahead and 
do everything that was thought necessary. 

Q,. Who determined the amount of what had to be done upon the ves- 
sel to prepare it ?^A. That was determined by the commandant and the 
officers of the yard and the commanding officer of the ship. 

Q. They knowing the service she was going on were supposed to be 
fully capable of deciding what was best to be done under the circum- 
stances?— A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What would be the proper complement of officers and men respect- 
ively for such a ship for Xvar service? — A. She would be allowed one 
hundred and fifty men, and the number of officers that would be consid- 
ered absolutely necessary would be thirteen. But she would probably be 
given, including naval cadets and youngsters, about eighteen. 

Q. Does the number one hundred and fifty include marines? — A. It 
includes marines ; yes, sir. 

Q. So that the whole force on board would be one hundred and sixty- 
eight men ? — A. The whole force on board would ordinarily be about one 
hundred and sixty-eight ; that is, including the officers, midshipmen, and 
cadets. 

Q,. So that it would be one hundred and sixty-eight men, all told ? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What complement of officers and men, respectively, ought such a 
ship have to fit her for ordinary service in time of peace? — A. She 
would have the same number of officers, but she would have one hundred 
and thirty-three men instead of one hundred and fifty. 

Q. What would be the smallest crew of officers and men, respectively, 
that could readily handle the ship when subjected to the usual contingen- 
cies of navigation ? — A. That is a matter of opinion. If you mean the 
very smallest, it could be reduced to a very small number. But taken in 
its ordinary sense, I should say about eighty men and about ten or twelve 
officers. 

Q,. Would a larger crew be required for such special service as that upon 
which she was ordered ? 

The Witness. Do I understand you to mean larger than this smallest 
number? 

The Court. Yes. 

A. Then I should say that more than the minimum should be given to 
provide for sickness and loss of men by exposure. 

Q. After it had been determined to detail the Yantic for the special 
S. Ex. 100 9 



130 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

service referred to, was any additiou made to her crew ? — A. None to my 
knowledge. 

Q. I believe that is all upon that point. There is another point. Did 
you ever see the paper known here as "Memorandum 4" or "Inclosure 
4" previous to the preparation of the instructions to Commander Wildes? — 
A. I have no recollection of having seen it. I should have testified three 
or four days ago when I was before the court that I had never seen it 
until I saw it in the newspapers; but I know that Lieutenant-Comman- 
der McCalla has testified that he saw it and received it from me, and 
therefore I cannot say positively that I did not see it, but I have no 
recollection of it. 

Q. There was a copy that came to the Navy Department after the dis- 
aster, was there not? — A. None came to me. I am not sure, but I think 
a copy went to the Secretary. 

Q. But that was after the disaster, as you understand it ? — A. I think 
so ; yes, sir. I might add here that we had conversations and papers of 
various kinds in preparing the orders for the Yantic, and it is possible that 
I may have had this paper, but I have no recollection of it. 

Q. You have read liieuteuant-Comraander McCalla's testimony, and you 
know what it is on that point ? — A. Yes, sir; I should have testified a day 
or two ago that I saw it only in the newspapers, and I cannot recollect now 
of seeing it, but still it is possible I may have seen it. 

Q. Did you get up the instructions to Commander Wildes? — A. Yes; 
I got them up under instructions from the Secretary, and laid them before 
the Secretary for his examination and criticism before they were adopted. 

Q. He has testified that he looked them over with you. Do you recol- 
lect whether in preparing those instructions for Commander Wildes that 
you had any memorandum which you consulted? — A. Yes, we had vari- 
ous papers. I had gotten together everything I could on the subject ot 
navigation in those waters, and had made a considerable examination ot 
them, and I consulted everything, but I do not remember this memoran- 
dum, and my impression has been that the first I knew of it was when it 
was published after the failure of the expedition. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. I will just ask one question to complete what we want to know 
about the equipment, and so forth. The Yantic was of course provided 
with sufficient boats to carry her ship's company in case of destruction ? — 
A. She probably had boats enough to hold all her people by crowding 
She had the usual complement of boats that are given to vessels of war 

By the Court : 
Q. I think you stated in your previous testimony ll.at your idea was 
that the Yantic M^as sent up there with the expectation of getting up to 
Littleton Island, and that the object of sending her there was that in case 
of disaster she might be in the way to pick up the men? — A. Yes, and 
render any assistance that was necessary or that was within her power. 

Sergt. William H. Lamar, of the United States Signal Service, sworn 
and examined. 

By the Eecorder: 
Question. You are a sergeant in the Signal Service ? — Answer. Yes, sir. 





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PKOCEEDINGS OF PKOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 131 

Q. .You accompanied the expedition under the command of Mr. Gar- 
lington? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And returned with it? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was your special duty on that expedition ? — A. I was an ob- 
server of the Signal Corps on special magnetic and meteorological work. 

Q. Had you charge of the instruments? — A. I had, together with 
Private Ellis, of the Signal Service. We were on the same footing as ob- 
servers. 

Q. You had charge also of the photographic apparatus, had you not ? — 
A. That \vas just a private amateur outfit that I carried. 

Q. Did you take some photographs of the Proteus and the surrounding 
ice? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. [Submitting photographs.] Are these that you now present to the 
court the ones ? — A. Yes ; they are prints from the negatives that I made. 

Q. State what they are, respectively. They are designated as F, F 2, 
F3, F4, and F 5. — A. F is the Proteus just before she sank, about the 
time that she was abandoned, after we had taken everything off ; we were 
all off" on the ice, F 2 is a view at the head of Melville Bay ; the Proteus 
ran up there and was stopped by the ice on the way to the place where 
she finally sank; we stopped there several hours, and while the 
party was on the ice I made that exposure. F 3 was taken on the 
retreat in boats near Conical Rock, which you will see in the background, 
and the boats hauled up on the ice there to prevent them being smashed. 
F 4 was taken on the morning of the 23d of July. The Proteus was 
nipped in the ice very near the latitude of Cape Albert, just before she 
turned on the retreat south where she was finally sunk. She was nipped 
there about two hours. F 5 is a view just after the vessel sank, showing 
the boats on the ice-floe and the broken mass of ice. It was taken about 
a minute after she passed out of sight. I will state that there are several 
other photographs in the series, but I was called on only to produce those 
as showing the condition of the ice. 

By the Court : 

Q. One of those photographs you took — the Proteus — just as she was 
going down? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did you do between the time she was nipped and the time you 
took your photographs of her ? — A. I was assisting to remove supplies 
from on board until she was finally abandoned. 

Q. After all that was finished, then you had time enough to take a pho- 
tograph of her before she went down ? — A. It was five minutes after she 
was abandoned before she finally sank. 

Q. And it was during that five minutes that you took the photograph ? 
— A. Certainly. Allow me to correct myself. I believe that I am mis- 
taken about that five minutes. I think that she was abandoned in that 
condition, and it was then that I took it, and it was after that that Lieu- 
tenant Colwell and party went aboard for the other boat. I think it was 
between those times I took it. At first the party was called off* from the 
ship by cries of danger — that she was sinking and so forth, and we all left 
her. I think every man left the ship at that time, and I think it was as 
that time that I made this exposure, and that afterwards she was boarded 
again to get the final boat out. 



132 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Was or was not eveiything possible done after the disaster to save 
the stores, as far as you know ? — A. Our party certainly worked as hard 
as they were able to work. It was about twenty-four hours from the time 
of the sinking of the vessel until the last boat landed upon Cape Sabine, 
and we were working constantly all that time very near. I know for one 
that I was perfectly exhausted myself at that time. 

Q. Did the officers and crew of the Proteus do all they could to save 
the stores? — A. Our party worked entirely separate from theirs, and I 
did not have cause to see as much of what they were doing as what I saw 
of our party. But I know that there were a great many working in the 
after part of the vessel getting supplies from the hatch beneath the cabin 
floor, and as I had cause to go there to save some chronometers — I had 
one in the cabin — I saw a good deal of work being done there that I 
could not have observed had I been elsewhere. A great many of the 
supplies of the Proteus were removed from that portion of the vessel. 

By the Court : 
Q. By the crew ? — A. By their party ; yes, sir ; while our party was 
working in the front forward hatch and the forward peak, an entirely 
diifereut portion of the ship. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did or did you not see any disobedience or disposition not to assist 
manifested by any of the crew of the Proteus ? — A. I do not know that I 
saw any disobedience of orders at all. I could not say positively that I 
saw any direct disobedience of any order given by their officers. 

Q. Did you see any want of alacrity? — A. I think at iirst they were 
more engaged in supplying themselves with things they thought they 
needed than saving supplies. 

Q. Explain to the court fully how they were engaged. — A. They paid 
more attention to their private baggage than they did to saving supplies 
in the first place. Their own bags of clothing were the first things they 
saved, and they seemed to think that personal property was the first 
thing to be saved at that time; but as to their standing around and not 
doing anything when they saw things that they could do, I did not see 
anything of that kind. 

Q. Was there not naturally some confusion at the time? — A. Yes, sir; 
it was a very exciting scene. I think that the expedition party worked, 
much more effectively than the other party. 

Q. Did Captain Pike at any time express any disapprobation of the 
conduct of his men? — A. Yes, sir; at one time he did. He was speak- 
ing of the discipline the soldiers were under at that time. He made some 
remark about his men not working as well as the soldiers did. He used 
the expression "soldiers." 

Q. Do you remember what he said? — A. No, sir; he was at some dis- 
tance ; we were upon the edge of a floe ; I believe one of our boats had just 
been pushed into the water, and his party were off perhaps a hundred 
yards; I heard him call loudly there to some of them; I was not near 
enough to hear any of the ordinary tones. 

Q,. Have you read Lieutenant Garlington's report of his expedition? — 
A. Yes, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PR07EUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 133 

Q. Are you able to give this court any information that it has not re- 
ceived from that report and from other evidence so far as you know ?— A. 
I think he is mistaken about the time of the vessel going down. I know 
he is. I had charge of the chronometers, which contained the only reli- 
able time on the vessel. The time of nipping as he stated was quarter to 
three. She was finally abandoned at 6 o'clock, and sunk five minutes 
later. I noticed the chronometer, both at the time of the vessel being 
abandoned and at the time of her sinking. 

Q. You saved some of the chronometers, did you ? — A. Ellis and I saved 
all of the chronometers, five in number. In regard to other statements 
made in that report I know of no error. 

Q,. Do you know anything else material to the question of the causes 
of the failure of the expedition? — A. I know of nothing positively my- 
self. I heard what Captain Pike said about most every difference be- 
tween himself and Lieutenant Garlington on the expedition from the time 
of its starting until the close. The position that I occupied threw rae in 
that portion of the vessel a good deal, and I frequently saw Captain Pike 
on deck and he talked freely to myself and Private Ellis in regard to a 
great many differences between Lieutenant Garlington and himself. But 
of course as to knowing whether they are true or not I never heard any- 
thing that passed between them at all. I simply had his statement, and I 
have heard his son's statements. 

Q. Did you ever know yourself of any differences between them ? — A. 
I never saw or heard anything that passed between Lieutenant Garling- 
ton and Captain Pike at all. But I have heard Captain Pike on deck 
frequently speak of them. 

Q. You knew of no dispute or difference of opinion yourself between 
Captain Pike and Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. I know simply of differ- 
ences of opinion from Captain Pike's statements to me. 

Q. What did those statements refer to ? — A. Before we left Godhaven 
Lieutenant Garlington, I think, was ready to go sometime before Captain 
Pike thought the weather would permit the vessel to leave the harbor. It 
was foggy and raining and he did not want to leave, and Lieutenant Gar- 
lington was ready and rather insisted upon it, so he said, and he did not 
like Lieutenant Garlington's taking the stand he did in that matter as he 
thought he was in command of the vessel. That was about his statement. 

Q. Anything else ? — A. The day before the wreck we were in Payer Har- 
bor at Cape Sabine, and Private Ellis and myself had gone ashore to make 
some magnetic observations. We expected to remain there several days 
to coal ship, <&c. We had gone across Smith's Sound and found the whole 
sound blocked with ice, as Captain Pike had reported it must be, and he 
expected to stay, he said, at Cape Sabine for several days to coal ship, and 
then to go out to see about the ice. We were recalled from shore only a few 
hours after we had landed the instruments and gone to work, and I asked 
Captain Pike why we were called back so suddenly and why we were going 
forward, or something of that kind. I do not recollect exactly my question, 
but I spoke about his leaving so soon, and he said then that Lieutenant Gar- 
lington had discovered what he thought to be open water in that direction, 
and that he did not want to leave himself, that he did not believe the ice was 
favorable to proceeding farther. He said that he first remonstrated about 
going any farther at present, and that Lieutenant Garlington told him that 



134 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

he did not think he would be doiug his duty to the party at Lady Franklin 
Bay or to the United States Government if he did not go on. So he then, 
under the circumstances, went forward. He spoke of that occurrence 
several times while we were butting against the ice, and so on, while he 
no doubt mentioned this fact after the wreck more than before. But 
at most every encampment that thing was spoken of and discussed in the 
camp. 

Q. In the presence of Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. No, I never heard 
in the presence of Lieutenant Garlington one thing of the kind discussed. 
I simply heard Captain Pike's statements. I know nothing further than 
his statements. 

Q. What do you mean by coaling ? — A. Coaling the bunkers from his 
own supply on the ship. I know nothing of these statements only so far 
as I have heard them discussed by Captain Pike and his son and the mem- 
bers of his crew and the whole party all the way down on the retreat, when 
of course these matters were discussed every day. 

Q. Were you in the habit of taking observations for latitude yourself? — 
A. Yes ; I took observations for latitude and longitude. 

By the Court : 

Q. On what boat were you on the retreat ? — A. I was in Lieutenant 
Col well's boat. 

Q. All the time ? — A. Yes ; all the time except near Cape York. He 
went forward with a party from about fourteen or fifteen miles above Cape 
York. He had a crew and went forward to see if there were any boats 
at Cape York. The main portion of the boats could not reach Cape York 
on account of the ice. 

Q. You got aboard after that ? — A. I got aboard at Cape York again, 
and continued on the same boat. 

By the Eecorder : 

Q. Do you know whether Captain Pike was able to take observations ? — 
A. I have seen him take sights for latitude and longitude, but I never 
saw any of his computations the whole time I was on the ship. 

Q. You had had no previous nautical experience ? — A . No, sir. 

Q. But from your observation as to the manner in which Captain Pike 
was regarded by his associates and from his general bearing could you 
form any idea as to his capacity as a shipmaster ? — A. I know nothing 
at all of the requisites of a shipmaster. I had never lieen to sea. I 
know that Captain Pike in St. John's was spoken of very highly as a 
navigator. They think he is a great sea captain up there. 

Q,. You mean the seafaring community think so ? — A. Yes, the sea- 
faring community think so. 

Q. How was he regarded by his men ? Did he seem able to command 
them and to enforce discipline? — A. On the retreat they seemed to think 
they were not under his command, except so far as they were disposed 
to be. 

Q. But prior to that, before the disaster, was he regarded with respect 
by his men? — A. I know nothing to the contrary before the wreck. 

Q. You say the men after the disaster considered themselves absolved 
rom obedience ? — A. Yes, sir. They claimed that they were no longer 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 135 

receiving pay after their vessel went down and that when it sank their re- 
lations with it ceased. 

By the Court : 

Q. Not recognizing any duty to yield obedience had they a right to eat 
the food that was carried along ? — A. Well, they did eat it. 

Q. What position do you hold in the Signal Service ? — A. Sergeant in 
the Signal Corps. 

Q. How long have you been in the Corps ? — A. Two years next Jan- 
uary. 

The Recorder. Lieutenant-Commander McCalla wishes to make a 
further correction in his testimony which he does not remember as having 
heard read. 

Lieutenant-Commander Bowman H. MoCalla then resumed the 
stand. 

The Witness. I would like to correct my answer to the question by 
the court on page 114, as follows : 

Q. You are not in a position, necessarily, to know whether the instructions were 
given ? 

As the question apparently refers to giving a copy of Commander Wildes' 
instructions to the Chief Signal Officer, I would say that I was not neces- 
sarily in a position to know ; on page 112, in reply to the question — 

Q. In making alterations- to a ship to prepare her for the service, by whose orders 
would such alterations be made? 

I would say, by order of the Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Re- 
pair under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy. 

John Kenney sworn and examined. 
By the Recorder: 

Question. You were in the Signal Service ? — Answer. I was attached to 
the Signal Service while on duty with this expedition. 

Q. In what capacity? — A. As senior non-commissioned officer of the ex- 
pedition — sergeant. 

Q. What was your regiment ? — A. Troop I of the Seventh Cavalry. 

Q. You left with this expedition from New York and returned with it, 
did you? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Now, I wish to learn from you what you know, if anything, regard- 
ing the failure of the expedition — any special causes that may be known 
to you which, in your opinion, led to the failure? — A. To the best of my 
knowledge it was through unavoidable accident, 

Q. You refer to the Avrecking of the ship ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. I wish to ask you particularly as to the conduct of the officers and 
crew of the Proteus at the wreck? — A. They acted pretty bad all the way 
through. 

Q. Explain that fully to the court. — A. The men, in the first place, 
did not seem to care much about saving property as they should have done. 
They were of no help to us at all, and as far as I could see did not in- 
tend to be. I did not hear any words at all between the men, but I know 
that that was the feelinar amono;st them all. I could see it. 

Q,. Was everything possible done by Lieutenant Garlington and his 



136 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

party to save the stores and what could be obtained from the wreck ? — A 
Lieutenant Colwell had charge of the men on deck. I was with him. 
We staid on her till the last minute. She went out of sight a few min- 
utes after we jumped off. 

Q. So far as your party was concerned you think nothing was left un- 
done to save as much as possible? — A. Yes, sir. Everything that could 
be done was done. 

Q. Did ybu hear Captain Pike at any time express any disapprobation 
of the conduct of his crew? — A. No, sir; I did not myself. 

Q. Do you know anything of any mutinuous demonstrations on the 
part of the crew — any disposition to violence on the journey down ? — A. I 
had good reason to believe that they were going to take one of our boats. 

Q. Explain wdiat reason you had ? — A. I was told by one of the men 
that I had better keep an eye on our largest whale boat, that Lieutenant 
Colwell was in charge of, and furthermore that Lieutenant Garlington 
had better watch himself. That was all I heard about it. 

Q. Who told you that? — A. A man named Harry Jeau. 

Q. What was he ? — A. He was a fireman. He did not exactly tell me 
in those words, but he hinted at it in such a manner that I could not but 
understand it. 

Q. Can you state to the court his words as well as you remember ? — A. 
No, sir; I cannot. 

Q. He was one of the firemen of the Proteus? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Yon do not remember anything further that he told you about it ? — 
A. No, sir; I do not. 

Q. To whom did you communicate those facts? — A. To Lieutenant 
Garlington. 

Q. When was it Jeau told you this? — A. Well, I heard hints all 
along the passage down from Cape Sabine. I did not get it at any exact 
time, but the day before we left Cape York I got some rumors from a 
man named Hunt, who was cook of the Proteus, and I communicated 
them to Lieutenant Garlington. I first spoke to Dr. Harrison about it. 
He advised me to tell Lieutenant Garlington. It was my intention to do 
so in the first place, but I thought I would wait and see how things were 
going. 

Q. Have you read Lieutenant Garlington's reports of this expedition ? — 
A. No, sir ; I have not. 

Q. How long had you been in the military service when you were de- 
tailed to this expedition ? — A. A little over four years. 

Q. You volunteered for it? — A.- 1 did, sir. 

Q. The rest of the men, as far as you know, were volunteers, were 
they ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Where had you been serving ? — A. At Fort Totten, Dakota Terri- 
tory, or in the department of Dakota Territory, through that country — 
Montana. 

Q,. Do you know anything about some of the men deserting who were 
originally enlisted or originally detailed for the expedition ? 

The Witness. You mean previous to the party leaving New York ? 

The Recordee. Yes. 

A. Thev were Sergeant Bolton and Private Cook. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 137 

Q. To what Troop did they belong ? — A. Troop L, of the Seventh Cav- 
alry. 

Q. Do you know of any disposition on the part of any of the others to 
desert? — A. No, sir ; not previous to going. 

Q. Or any indications of a disposition in that direction ? — A. No, sir ; 
not previous to our departure from here. 

Q. Did you know of any disposition to desert afterward in the couree 
of the voyage? — A. No, sir; not during the voyage. 

Q. Or on the retreat of the party by boat down ? — A. No, sir ; there 
was not a man among the party but was bound to stick. 

Q. Did any of them manifest any disposition to desert in New York 
or St. John's ?-^A. No, sir; there was no sign of their daserting there. A 
few of the men got on a spree; that was all. 

By the Court : 

Q. When this man belonging to the Proteus gave you that information 
in regard to stealing a boat, was it done in a threatening tone or merely as 
a hint ? — A. It was not exactly given to me ; I got the expressions and 
came to the conclusion, and after Corporal Elwell and I talked the matter 
over of the way things were going; the men were all the time saying that 
our large boat would be the best boat to cross Melville Bay — to fit that 
boat out of the stores of the expedition and send one party acroas and 
bring a ship for the remainder ; and the men were saying that it would 
not do to stop in that country all winter ; they were giving me hints ; I 
could not exactly say the words that were used, but it was to that point, 
anyway ; that is what they intended to do. 

Q. That is, you saw they were not relying implicitly upon what the 
officers of the expedition were going to do, but they were inclined to take 
a hand in it themselves ? — A. Thev were going; to do that if worst came 
to the worst. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did I understand you to say that these men, Jeau and Hunt, gave 
you this warning in a friendly way of what the others would do? — A. 
Well, it was said in a way such as to tell me to take care of myself. I 
could hardly understand what they were driving at at the time until I 
talked with other parties. Other parties had got hints of the same kind. 
Corporal Elwell was one. 

Q. You say also that you heard expressions from other men that 
seemed to indicate that they had that intention themselves ? — A. Well, it 
was just this way as far as the other men were concerned: They would 
make remarks against the officers of our party. We could hardly get 
head or tail of what they were driving at, but we got an idea that it was 
hostile to our party and that it was dangerous to trust them. That was 
the idea I came to. 

By the Court : 

Q. And as a consequence your party took precautions against the loss ? — 
A. Yes, sir ; the majority of the men did. 

Q. Do you know anything of any differences or disputes between Lieu- 
tenant Garlington and Captain Pike as to what ought to be done at any 
time? — A. I do not know of any differences, sir; if there were any I did 
not hear them. 



138 PROCEKDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Do you know wliat kind of men these people on board the Proteus 
were ? — A. Thev were Newfoundlanders of the meanest kind. 

Q. They did not impress you as being good sailors? — A. They were 
neither sailor men nor anything else. 

At this point (2.30 p. m.) the examination of the witness was concluded, 
the room cleared, and the doors closed for the purpose of deliberation by 
the court. At 3 o'clock j). m. the doors were reopened and the court 
adiourned until 11a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 
Saturday, November 24, 1883 — 11 o'clock a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of yesterday's proceedings, having been read 
and amended, was approved by the court. 

The Recorder. General Hazen desires to ask Lieutenant Garlington 
a few questions with the permission of the court. 

Lieut. Ernest A. Garlington was then recalled and examined as 
follows : 

By General Hazen: 
Q. From your experience upon the Proteus what is your opinion with 
regard to that ship for the purposes intended of her — both the ship and 
her equipment; also your opinion of her character and fitness as com- 
pared with any other ship or equipment which might be available for 
that purpose? — A. I think the Eroteus was the best ship that could have 
been gotten for the work on this side of the Atlantic. The only objection 
that I could see to her was that her engines were amidships, and from my 
study of the subject, since particularly, I think that the engines are better 
placed aft, as they are in all the Dundee whalers except one, I believe. But 
she was considered the best of all of the ships at St. John's. The rigging 
of the Proteus was old, and if we had been dependent on the sails to 
any great extent the probabilities are that they would have been carried 
away in any heavy weather. When we first struck the ice off Labrador, 
butting it, the mainmast seemed to me to be quite unsteady, and the 
next morning I noticed that the sailors were at work putting in new 
lanyards, and they did some other work on the rigging between that 
point and Disko. A¥e had four boats ; a jolly boat, a long boat, and 
two punts. The boats were all old, and appeared to me to be in bad 
condition, particularly the two punts. Captain Pike himself consid- 
ered the long boat a very good sea-boat. I heard him say at Upernavik 
that he would be perfectly willing if he could get it decked over to make 
th.e attempt to get to St. John's in it. But from my limited experience 
with boats I considered all of them very bad boats. The Proteus was 
provided with two extra screws or propellers and one extra rudder, and I 
was told by Captain Pike that she had an extra suit of sails. I was also 
informed by him that they had ample provisions for a year. All the pro- 
visions I saw were of good quality, though of a low grade of provisions, 
except the ship biscuit, which was very good. 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 139 

Q. What was the general conduct of the ship, in a general way, from 
the time she left St. John's until the disaster as to her qualities of naviga- 
tion and the method of her management ? — A. I saw nothing in the man- 
agement of the ship to complain of up to the time of the wreck, except it 
appeared to me that Captain Pike was very careless in navigating unknown 
coasts and entering unknown harbors; I never could explain to myself 
satisfactorily why he got so far into the bight in Melville Bay; he laid it 
to the compasses and fog ; bnt my opinion is that he should not have gotten 
so far oif the track even under those circumstances. 

Q. But generally, did not the ship make a good voyage? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the conduct of the men as seamen doing their duty upon 
the Proteus up to the time of the disaster ? — A. I saw nothing at all in 
the crew to find fault with until the ship got nipped in the ice. 

Q. Do you know anything of the custom or law, whichever it may be, 
as to the status of a crew after a disaster? — A. I was informed by sev- 
eral of the men that as soon as the ship sank the pay of the seamen ceased 
at that moment and that they owed no allegiance to their officers except 
what they chose to give. I asked Captain Pike about that, and he either 
could not or would not give me any positive information on the subject. 

Q. That was your impression? — A. Yes. During the wreck I heard 
the mate give one of the men an order to do certain things and the man 
told him to go to hell ; he wanted him to understand that the ship was 
gone now, and he was as good as he was. That was while the ship was 
sinking. 

Q,. You have stated that on two occasions Captain Pike's ship, the Pro- 
teus, was not run ashore but touched the rocks or touched the coast. Now, 
do you know anything of the character or the customs of navigation with 
those strong boats, they being so strong that it is quite customary for them 
to feel their way along with the bottom of the boat rather than to sound 
as much as it is usual in our marine service ? — A. I cannot say as to their 
custom in that regard, but I know that the Proteus never used the lead- 
line at all as far as I saw. I do not know anything about the others. 
That is, the lead-line was not used until Lieutenant Colwell used it when 
we ran on the rock at the mouth of Disko Fjord. From what I saw I 
do not think they are as careful as they would be on a well-regulated ship ; 
in fact I know they are not. 

Q. Do you not think the construction and strength of the ship had 
something to do with that ? — A. It may give them overconfidence ; I 
think it very likely did. Running on a rock up there is not as danger- 
ous as running on a rock in other waters, because the ice smooths off the 
rocks to a great extent, and they are not jagged or pointed as much as 
they are in other waters. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. I will ask you in reference to a matter that was, as you are prob- 
ably aware, alluded to yesterday in the evidence. Did or did you not 
urge Captain Pike at any time to proceed against his own judgment? — 
A. No ; I did not. 

Q. In leaving Disko or in entering the ice off Cape Sabine? — A. In 
no place did I ever urge Captain Pike to do anything against his judg- 
ment, nor did he express to me at any time that he was doing anything 
against his judgment. 



140 PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. He never protested against any request of yours that he followed? — 
A. He never protested against doing anything that I requested hira to do 
When we left Egedesminde I wanted to go to Jacobshaven and he told 
me that he did not think it was advisable on account of the consumption 
of coal, and that the object I wanted to go there for could be effected just 
as well by going back to Godhaven and I changed my mind and went to 
Godhaven. There was no difference whatever between Captain Pike and 
myself from the time I went on the ship in St. John's until the time I 
went ashore with him when I got back to St. John's. 

Q. He never made any complaint to you? — A. He never made any 
complaint to me, I have heard of things that Captain Pike has said since 
he returned to St. John's and on the retreat also, but he never said any- 
thing to me, and when I got to St. John's I heard of these remarks that 
had been attributed to Captain Pike. I went to see Mr. Syme, the agent 
of J. & W. Stewart, and requested him to have Captain Pike come to his 
office at a particular time, saying that I would be there with Lieutenant 
Colwell. At the appointed time we went there, and Captain Pike was 
also there. He stated at that interview what I have stated here ; that 
there had been no difference at all between hira and me during the 
voyage. He also stated in answer to a question to Mr. Syme that he 
had gone into the ice against his judgment, but that he never expressed 
to me that it was against his judgment or gave me any reason to suppose 
that it was against his judgment. Nor did he express any such opinion 
to me either, when I told him to go out of Payer Harbor or at any time 
while we were in the ice, and I said nothing to him whatever in the way 
of direction from the time we left the harbor until the ship sank. Lieu- 
tenant Colwell was present at a conversation that took place between me 
and Capain Pike just before we left Payer Harbor and knows all the cir- 
cumstances of the case. I think Dr. Harrison was also present. 

Q. On leaving Payer Harbor to enter the ice in which the ship was 
crushed, did you make any request or give any directions to Captain Pike 
respecting which he expressed any dissatisfaction to you or in your hear- 
ing? — A. When I returned to the ship from making an examination of 
the cache left near Cape Sabine by Mr. Beebe in 1882, and having discov- 
ered the open water leading as far as I could see, Captain Pike was asleep. 
I went into his cabin and called him, and told him that I had discovered 
this open water and wished him to get the ship under way as soon as pos- 
sible to go out and make an examination of it and to make an effort to 
getnortli. He got up, came to the door of the room, and said that his 
coal-bunkers were getting empty. I told him that as soon as he got un- 
der way he could use my detail to assist in filling the coal-bunkers, and he 
said, " All right, I am as anxious to get north as you," and went on deck and 
gave the necessary orders for getting the ship under way. From that time un- 
til the ship sank I made no suggestion, directly or indirectly, to Captain 
Pike. He expressed to me no opinion at all as to the advisability of 
going into the ice then or at any other time. I would also state that in 
going out of Payer Harbor, to make sure of everything, I requested 
Lieutenant Colwell to go into the crow-nest with the first mate, who was 
in the crow-nest, and he went there and remained until the ship met the 
first barrier, and from that time until the time the ship was finally beset 
and sunk the movements of the ship were directed by Mr. Pike, the son 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 141 

of the captain, or the boatswain, Mr. Taylor, Captain Pike remaining on 
deck. 

By the Couet: 

Q. You said in substance a moment ago that Captain Pike was care- 
less in entering unknown harbors and in navigating Melville Bay. I 
would like for you to explain a little more "fully what you mean. In 
what way was this carelessness manifested ; what precautions were taken 
and what were neglected? — A. My sea experience up to that time had 
been either on a well-regulated merchant ship or a man-of-war, and I had 
never seen any ships run into an unknown harbor without taking the 
precaution of sounding, or run close to land without using the lead, and 
w^hen we went into Egedesminde there was no lead used, and running 
along the shore of Disko Island, from the harbor of Godhaven to the en- 
trance of Disko Fjord, no lead was used. We were running along in sight of 
the shore all the time, a mile or a mile and a half, and there were rocks 
to be seen from the ship near the coast we were following at the time 
the ship struck, and just before she struck somebody in the bow of the 
ship, I think young Mr. Pike, called the attention of his father to the 
fact that we were getting into shallow water, and Captain Pike said that 
there was plenty of water, and pointed to some icebergs on ahead, saying 
"if those icebergs can float this ship can float here.^' Even then there 
were no soundings taken. Those icebergs were afterward ascertained to 
be aground. A very few minutes, or seconds probably, after attention 
was called to there being shallow water there, he saw himself, from the 
rijljliles on the water, that there were rocks ahead, and he had the ship 
slowed down, and almost immediately it struck, and she went astern full 
speed. The probabilities are if she had gone forward at full speed she 
would have jumped off the rock, but in slowing down and going back she 
bumped once or twice and then hung. That is the first time that I had 
any reason to question Captain Pike's ability as a sea captain. He did 
not impress me then as being equal to the emergencies that were likely to 
arise. He seemed to lose his head there, and he went dancing up and down 
the deck and jumping around, saying that we should not have come there and 
making remarks of that sort ; yet he never took a precaution to do anything 
to get the ship off except to go backwards and forwards, and he left the deck 
and went down in the cabin and knocked on Lieutenant Colwell's door, 
who had not yet got up, and said, " Lieutenant, the ship has struck a rock." 
Then Lieutenant Cohvell came up on deck and took soundings. He went 
and grabbed up the lead-line and threw it over and it indicated plenty of 
water and he could not account for it. Some men standing there said 
several fathoms had been cut oif the line, so the probabilities are that if any- 
body had been sounding before she struck they would not have known of 
the presence of any obstructions. 

Q. That was one time. Were there any other times? — A. Then as I 
have said we went around Disko Island and lay a course for Cape Yprk, 
and at the end of a certain time we found ourselves over there near the 
Belgoui Islands and did not know where we were. He thought that the 
prominent land near those islands was Cape York and one of "the islands 
was Conical Rock. We ran alongside the fast ice, about midday, if I 
remember correctly, or a little after midday. Then Mr. Cohvell and 
myself were certain that he had gotten too far to the eastward, and after 



142 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

talking with Mr. Colwell I determined to lay alongside this fast ice until 
we could get a time-sight and locate the position of the ship, and he went 
ashore with the signal observers and got a sight and determined that point 
there [indicating on Signal Service maps] ; that is why I think he care- 
lessly navigated. I do not think such a big error in position should have 
been made. 

Q. How many miles out of his course was he, do you suppose? — A. It 
was about one hundred and twenty miles over there, I think. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. [Referring to Signal Service map.] You mean that erratic course 
where it crosses and makes a triangle? — A. Yes. 

Q. That was all occasioned by this mistake, was it? — A. Yes. 

By the Court : 

Q. He was not driven to that course by the ice? — A. He seemed to 
think that he was too far to the westward, and followed the leads to the 
eastward instead of to the westward; I will say that I do not feel compe- 
tent to give an opinion on a man's seamanship ; this is just what I ob- 
served and the conclusions I drew, and I never thought he could work a 
time-sight because nobody ever saw him work out one. 

Q. That is, none of your party? — A. Yes; the two signal men took ob- 
servations every day and worked them up. Mr. Colwell took sights and 
worked them. I remember one instance where Mr. Colwell took a time- 
sight and worked it out and Captain Pike asked him what he got and he 
told him, and he said, " That is what I got; " and then Mr. Colwell ^nt 
over his work again and found that he had made an error, and he told 
Captain Pike what that was, and Captain Pike worked his over again and 
he said he found he was in error, too, and he got the same result that Mr. 
Colwell did the second time. 

Sergeant William H. Lamar, recalled. i 

The Witness. In regard to that photograph, I know now that it must 
have been taken at the time that the vessel was first abandoned and that after 
that Lieutenant Colwell and party went aboard and saved the remaining 
whale-boat, for at the time that we finally abandoned the vessel the ice 
was piled up higher on the starboard side. In fact it was over the rail 
amidships on the starboard side, and the ice not appearing that way in the 
picture I know it must have been the first time that the vessel was aban- 
doned that this photograph was taken. In regard to saving chronom- 
eters, testified to on page 133 of the record, I would say that Private 
Ellis and myself saved four chronometers — two mean time and two side- 
reals — and the pocket chronometer was saved by some of the Proteus 
crew and afterward returned to Lieutenant Garlington. It was saved by 
the second engineer. 

By the Recorder : 
Q,. [Indicating two photographs.] These two photographs you have 
produced this morning, marked F 6 and F 7, represent what? — A. F 6 is 
the English depot at Carey Island with the relief party there, and F 7 is 
the Proteus in Pandora Harbor. It was taken from near the head of the 
harbor, about the point where the cairn that Beebe left last year was ex- 
pected to be found. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 143 

By Lieutenant Gaelington : 

Q. I would like to ask you if your duties did not keep you most of the 
time, except when you were asleep, in the cabin or on the afterdeck ? — A. 
Yes, sir ; my duties kept me in the cabin or on the afterdeck most of the 
time. 

Q. Did you observe or hear anything pass between Captain Pike and 
myself that would lead you to suppose there was any difference between 
us on the way up ? — A, Never in the least did I hear anything pass be- 
tween you and Captain Pike that would lead me to infer that there was any 
difference at all. I have heard him talk to you and I have heard you 
speak to him a great many times. 

Q. Did he state to you that he had told me before we left Payer Har- 
bor that the movement was against his judgment ? — A. Just as I stated 
in my testimony last night. 

Q. I wish you would state to the court what you heard the second en- 
gineer state about that chronometer at the time he had it first and subse- 
quently on the retreat? — A. I did not see him when he had it at first. I 
think the chronometer had been turned over to you before I ever knew 
that it was in his possession. 

Q. State any conversation that you heard respecting it. — A. It was 
when we were encamped at Cape York, if I am not very much mistaken. 
It was at one of the camps along down on the retreat. He asked me 
what this chronometer was valued at and I told him that I was under the 
impression that it cost three hundred dollars. He asked me if it could 
be worn as a watch. I told him, yes it could, and he said, " Well, if he had 
known the way that Lieutenant Garlington was going to act about taking 
these buffalo overcoats away from them at Cape Sabine after they had saved 
them that he would not have let him know that he had the chronometer." 
They were all very angry about having to leave those coats, and it was in 
that connection he mentioned this fact. 

At this point (1 o'clock p. m.) the room was cleared and the doors closed 
for the purpose of deliberation by the court. At 3 o'clock p. m. the doors 
were reopened, and the court adjourned until 11 a. m. Monday. 



Washington, D'. C, 
Monday, November 26, 1883 — 11 a.m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of Saturday was read, and having been 
amended was approved. The court directed that the letter addressed by 
the president of the court to the Adjutant-General on Saturday, the 24th 
instant, and the reply thereto by the Adjutant-General, received to-day, be 
entered on the record as Exhibits G and H to this day's proceedings. 
The letters referred to are as follows : 

Exhibit G. 

Room Couet of Inquiey, 
(Convened by Special Orders No. 249, Par. 3, C. S., A. G. O.). 
To Brigadier-General R. C. Drum, 

Adjutant-General : 

Sir: I have the honor to advise you, for the information of the Secretary of War, that 

facts developed in the course of our inquiry now render it necessary in the opinion of 

the court that Mr. Richard Pike, master of the ship Proteus, should be in%dted to come 

before this court and testify as to certain allegations touching his own conduct and that 



144 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

of his crew on the voyage to Smith's Sound. It is made known to the court that Mr. 
Pike desires to deny certain aspersions upon his seamanship and good conduct, but 
irrespective of this the court is of opinion that his evidence may be very material to 
questions properly involved in this investigation. There is reason to believe, also, that 
Captain Clapp, of the Sixteenth Infantry, as well as Captain Powell, of the Sixth Infantry, 
would be material witnesses. The depositions of other witnesses at St. John's might be 
taken while the court is waiting for Mr. Pike, who, in the opinion of the court, should 
be heard by the court in person. 

The court would accordingly ask the Secretary of War to request the Secretary of State 
to instruct, by telegraph, Mr. Molloy, the United States consul at St. John's, to invite 
Mr. Pike to proceed, without delay, at the earliest ojjportunity of transportation to this city, 
and report to this court as a witness of the same, so as to report here by the 19th of De- 
cember, and that the assrirance shall be given him that his proper expenses in doing so 
will be deirayed by the War Department (in such a manner as the Secretary may approve), 
also that the consul be also requested to procure his own and Mr. Syme's depositions 
under interrogatories that will be sent to him, the consul. 

As this action will involve a delay of some three weeks, the approval of the Secretary 
of War is asked for an adjournment to the 19th of December next. 

The printing Qf the exhibits, which is delayed somewhat by other important business 
in the printing office, may, it is hoped, be completed by the time of reassembling of the 
court. 

Very respectfully, 

S. V. BENET, 
Briff'adier- General, Chief of Ord'iiunce, 

President of Caurt. 
Exhibit H. 

Wae Department, Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, Navembe?- 26, 1883. 
Brigadier-General S. V. Benet, 

President Court of Inquiry on Loss of the Steayner Proteus, Washington, D. C: 

Sir: Having submitted to the Secretary of War your letter of , received on the 

24th instant, I am instructed to convey his approval of the adjournment to December 
19th for the purpose stated.. 

The Secretary of War will take the necessary measures to carry out the wishes of the 
court relative to the attendance of persons named as witnesses. 
I am, sir, very respectfullj'', vour obedient servant, 

R. C. DRUM, 
Adjutant-Ge'ne7-al. 

Thereupon (at 12 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m.) the court adjourned 
until Wednesday, December 19th, proximo, at 11 o'clock a. ra. 



Washington, D. C, December 19, 1883. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment of November 26, 1883. Present, 
all the members and the recorder. 

The recorder announced that the reporter, Mr. Alexander, was detained 
by illness, and had deputed, subject to the approval of the court, Mr. 
Maurice Pechin, a stenographer of the city, to perform his duty in his 
absence. 

The court then directed Mr. Pechin to be sworn, and he was duly sworn 
to the faithful performance of his duty as stenographic reporter. 

Whereupon, 

Capt. James W. Powell, jr., Sixth Infantry, was sworn and examined, 

as follows : 

By the Recorder : 
Question. How long were you on duty in the Signal Office? — Answer. 
I think about one year and eight months. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 145 

Q. ribm what date to what date? — A. From November, 1881, to July 
1, 1883. 

Q. During what time last spring, during the absence of General Hazen, 
were you in charge of the Signal Service ? — A. From the latter part of 
May to the first few days in June. 

Q. Now, piior to May, 1 883, did you have any personal connection with 
the subject of Arctic exploration? — A. No, sir; my duties were not at 
all with the Arctic exploration; they were of another character in the 
office. 

Q. State what connection with, and what knowledge of, the expedition 
under charge of Lieutenant Garlington you had during that period of your 
charge of the office. — A. When General Hazen was ordered to St. John's 
I was assigned to duty as Acting Chief Signal Officer, and among other 
matters kept up the current preparation for Mr. Garlington's detail, and, 
without originating any matters, carried forward the preparations which 
had been already commenced by General Hazen. 

Q. Proceed to state what you did, &c., more particularly with reference 
to the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington. — A. The instructions for 
Mr. Garlington had already been prepared by General Hazen before he 
left. They were in rough notes, which had been referred to the various 
officers on duty in the corps for opportunity for advice and remark, and I 
found them in that shape, together with instructions for the scientific work ; 
and with a view of expediting matters and having everything in readiness 
for General Hazen's return I prepared clean copies, without changing 
the tenor in any way. I do not think, in fact, I altered a word in any of 
those papers. They were prepared on the type-writer, to be in readiness 
on General Hazen's return for him to act upon, and in that shape upon 
his retnrn I presented them to the general. 

Q. State what you know, if anything, in reference to the memorandum, 
a copy of which I now show you. — A. I would like to see the original of 
that; I mean the manuscript. 

The Recorder. It may be furnished you ; but I do not think we have 
it here now. I think it has been sent to the Public Printer. 

The Witness. Well, perhaps I can identify it without the originals. 
The original writing by Mr. Caziarc is what I wanted to see. 

Q,. You mean the rough notes? — A. Yes, sir. I think I might better 
tell from the paper itself. I might perhaps go back a step and explain, 
which would introduce the memorandum. About the latter part of May 
I was sent for by the Secretary of the Navy to confer relative to the 
tender which the Navy Department proposed to send with the expedition. 
At that time I did not know anything about the matter. I made myself 
acquainted as well as I could in the office as to what was desired by Gen- 
eral Hazen and then saw the Secretary of the Navy, who asked me 
whether it was intended that this tender should go so far north as to be 
endangered by the ice ; that the Navy Department had not at that time 
a vessel they could assign to such duty where there would be great dan- 
ger. I told him I believed that was not expected. He further inquired 
if it was contemplated that this tender should be required to carry sup- 
plies for the relief party. I told him I was informed that was not ex- 
pected. He then went on to explain that it was important, in order that 
S. Ex. 100- 10 



146 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

there should be no trouble — that all matters should be clear — that the 
instructions for the co-operation of the vessels should be made clear, and 
desired the views of the Sigual Office on that subject as to what was ex- 
pected of the relief vessel. I explained to the Secretary the temporary 
position in which I was placed as Acting Chief Signal Officer ; that I had 
not made a study of the subject, and as General Hazen would return from 
St. John's in less than a week, that I would, if possible, wish to defer pre- 
senting such a paper until the General's return. The Secretary informed 
me that would be in sufficient time. On my return to the office I in- 
structed Mr, Caziarc (who from his position as Assistant Adjutant-Gen- 
eral, I thought would be conversant with General Hazen's views and wishes 
as to what should be done in reference to the relieving vessel, he having 
all the correspondence in connection with the matter in his division) to re- 
port a draft of whiat might be required, so that if General Hazen did 
not return before the Secretary required this information, that I might have 
opportunity to confer with other officers to prepare a draft of what 
would be required. Subsequently Mr. Caziarc presented me a paper or 
read me a paper — I will say presented or showed me a paper, I think in 
the hand-writing of Lieutenant Caziarc. 

Q. Look at this exhibit. (Referring to page 126 of the Appendix). — 
A. Of which this is the general tenor. Further than that, I cannot identify 
it precisely. I did not take any action whatever on that paper. It in- 
cluded orders for Mr. Garlington's conduct of the expedition, which I 
thought had been already settled by the Chief Sigual Officer, and was not 
what I wished, it being apparently Mr. Caziarc's views, and not a com- 
pilation of the wishes of General Hazen in the matter. 

Q. Was this before or after you saw the Secretary of the Navy that this 
paper was shown you the first time? — A. I think it was immediately after 
my return after seeing the Secretary of the Navy, That was what led 
to it. 

Q,. Did you not receive into your possession a copy of the paper? — A. 
I have no recollection, sir, of ever receiving such a paper into my posses- 
sion. 

Q. Nor of having furnished anybody a copy ? — A. No, sir ; nor sent 
one to Lieutenant Garlington. Of that I am positive. 

Q. Do you have any recollection of speaking to General Hazen about 
it? — -A. I have no recollection of speaking to General Hazen about it, sir. 

Q. Did you report the tenor of this conversation with the Secretary of 
the Navy to General Hazen on his return? — A. I think immediately on 
his return he saw the Secretary of the Navy in regard to it. 

Q. How many days before General Hazen's return was this conversa- 
tion with Lieutenant Caziarc in which this paper was shown you? — A. I 
could best determine as to dates by the fact that I think it was on that same 
date I sent a telegram to General Hazen at St. John's to know at what 
northern limit the vessel was required to go. I sent such a telegram to 
the General, and I might fix the date by that — that is, the conversation in 
regard to his preparing instructions. 

Q. The conversation in which that paper was shown you, the question 
was. — A. Oh, that was a few days subsequently, but I could not fix it 
positively. 

Q. Why did you telegraph to General Hazen to know how far north 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 147 

the tender was expected to go? — A. The Secretary of the Navy wanted 
that information, and with a view of having the matter in proper shape in 
case the General had not returned when the Secretary would require it. 

Q. Look at this paper now shown you (being the paper referred to in 
Lieutenant Caziarc's testimony as the first draft, on page 40 of the record 
of proceedings) and state if it is the paper referred to by you as having 
been shown to you by Lieutenant Caziarc. — A. I cannot identify the paper 
particularly, except because of its being in the handwriting of Lieutenant 
Caziarc ; I think it is the same paper. 

Q. Is the lead-pencil writing there in Lieutenant Caziarc's handwrit- 
ing? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Now, this is dated June 4. Do you know whether that was the date 
on which it was shown to you, or whether it was before or after that 
date? — A. I think it must have been before that date, if General Hazen 
returned on that day. 

Q. Now, Lieutenant Caziarc has testified in substance about this first 
draft as follows : 

What did you do witli that memorandum? — A. I gave this to Captain Powell for the 
purpose named; I wrote this on Simday, but Captain Powell was not at the office at the 
time I wrote it; it was copied by the clerks and handed to him in the very opening hours 
on Monday; the ideas in the memorandum originated in the study of the orders that had 
been already prepared. 

Q. Proceed with the history of the memorandum. You say you gave it in that form 
to Captain Powell on June 4 ? — A. I gave it to him on June 4. Captain Powell never 
returned the memorandum to me, but he told me he had turned it over to the Chief 
Signal Officer. 

Q,. This is on page 41 of the record. Does that testimony refresh your 
recollection in any way ? — A. Not at all, sir. I do not think I did turn 
it over to General Hazen. I do not think I had it in my possession, and 
if General Hazen returned on the 4th there would have been no necessity 
or utility in presenting the papers to me on that day, because immediately 
on the General's return to his office I ceased to have anything further to do 
with the duties as Chief Signal Officer, resuming my own duties, and went 
to another field. 

Q. Would it depend on the time of dav on which General Hazen re- 
turned. For instance, if the 4th was Monday and you were in charge on 
Monday morning, and the Chief Signal Officer did not return until the 
afternoon, might it not be that the reason you stated would not have 
operated? — A. I might perhaps further explain that General Hazen was 
never long in the city before he was at the office. I cannot say what par- 
ticular hour he returned that day. I think his arrival was always known 
to us at the office very soon afterward. 

Q. But it might not have been known to you on that day; he might 
have returned on the night train? — A. I merely suppose he returned on 
that day. I do not know that he returned then. 

Q. Is that your only reason for believing that you could not have re- 
ceived and turned it over to him, because you believe that he returned op 
that day? — A. No, sir; my recollection is that I did not receive it. 

Q. You do not know the day of the week on which General Hazen re- 
turned ? — A. I do not. 

Q. Or how soon after you saw this paper it was that he returned? — A. 
No, sir ; I do not ; I cannot recall it. 



148 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q,. Yon do not remember having any conver.?ation with General Hazen 
in reference to the subject of that paper? — A. I do not. 

Q. Or on the subject of landing stores on the voyage of the vessel north- 
ward? — A. I did not discuss the details of the expedition with the Gen- 
eral at any time. As I say, it was not in my department. 

By the Court : 

Q. Lieutenant Caziarc gave this answer to a question the recorder asked 
him, referring to that paper : " I gave it to him on June 4. Captain 
Powell never returned the memorandum to me, and he told me he had 
turned it over to the Chief Signal Officer." Do you remember anything 
of that ? — A. I remember no such conversation. 

[4 Q- What orders did you give to Lieutenant Caziarc when you asked him 
to prepare instructions, after that conversation with the Secretary of the 
Navy, and which ended in his preparing the memorandum you are speaking 
of? — A. I could not repeat the exact instructions, but I know what was 
in my mind, what I desired. 

Q,. What was that? — A. That he should compile from past conversa- 
tions he had had with the General, and the various papers and correspond- 
ence which were in his hands as assistant adjutant-general. General Ha- 
zen's wishes as to what was required of the tender. 

Q. You are aware that this memorandum contained certain ideas that 
are not found in the letter of instruction given to Lieutenant Garlington ? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were those ideas that are embodied in the memorandum discussed 
in the office prior to your instructions to Lieutenant Caziarc? — A. I did 
not hear them discussed, sir. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Lieutenant Caziarc in regard to 
the ideas embodied in that memorandum, in any shape or form, before he 
wrote them out? 

The Witness. In regard to the ideas expressed in that memorandum ? 

The Court. Yes. 

A. No, sir; not to delineate in any way what I expected from him. 

Q. Did you ever hear prior to that the idea discussed that stores should 
be landed at Littleton Island on the Avay going np instead of on the way 
returning? — A. Captain Clapp's desk and Lieutenant Garlington's desk 
were in the same office, and frequently, while I was there at General Ha- 
zen's office, I may have heard Arctic work discussed. They may have 
mentioned time without number various plans, but not being in my divis- 
ion I did not make a study of it and cannot recall precisely what plan was 
thought of. 

Q. Did you ever hear that discussed, in any shape, so far as you know ? 

The Witness. Leaving stores at Littleton Island? 

Q. Yes, on the way up? — A. Not definitely further than I might have 
heard it, and still it not being a part of my affairs I would not remember it. 

Q. Well, you ordered Lieutenant Caziarc to get up certain instructions 
for the Secretary of the Navy on the 2d of June, as you stated in your 
testimony. He testifies that he wrote out those instructions on Sunday, 
and he testifies also that he delivered those instructions to you on Monday 
the 4th, as he says : " I wrote this on Sunday, but Captain Powell was not 
at the office at the time I wrote it. It was copied by the clerks and handed 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 149 

to him in the very openiug hours on Monday." You don't remember of 
his giving you that memorandum or the memorandum coming in your 
hands at all ? — A. I do not. 

Q. At the same time you remember of seeing the rough draft ? — A. A 
paper of that tenor, which, as near as I can recollect, was in Lieutenant 
Caziarc's writing. 

Q,. How did you come to see it? — A. I think Mr. Caziarc brought it 
to me, showing it to me ; possibly it was in my hands at the time. 

Q. Did you have any discussion with him in regard to the tenor of 
it? — A. I think not, sir, except that I would not approve anything of 
that character. 

Q. How was that? — A. It was not, in my opinion, what I required. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with him about it ? — A. I do not 
recollect any conversation. 

Q. Then, as I understand you, you expected that Lieutenant Caziarc in 
preparing that memorandum for the Secretary of the Navy would merely 
embody in it the views that were entertained by the Chief Signal Officer 
so far as he understood them, and not to go outside of that? — A. That is 
what I wished. 

Q. Don't you think that when you came to find that this memoran- 
dum expressed contrary views you expressed some opinion to him or 
had some discussion with him about it? — A. It is possible there was some 
conversation but in the multitude of papers that are brought into the Chief 
Signal Office it is difficult to pick out any particular paper. 

Q. Don't you think it was a very important paper in regard to a very 
important subject? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Then, as I understand, you stated positively in your testimony this 
morning that you did not have that paper in your possession, and that you 
did not give it to General Hazen? — A. That is my best recollection, sir. 

Q. You submitted to General Hazen, then, upon his return, all the papers 
concerning instructions to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. When the General 
returned I presented the papers that were then ready — that is, the scien- 
tific instructions and this type-writer clean copy of the instructions to 
Lieutenant Garlington ; I presented these to General Hazen. 

Q. Then you gave them into his hands, or did you merely lay them on 
the table ? — A. Whether I handed them to him with my own hand or 
called his particular attention to them on his desk I do not know ; it was 
either way. 

Q. Did you examine those papers before doing that, so as to know what 
you were presenting? — A. Oh, yes, sir. 

Q. Was that memorandum among those papers? — A. I think not, sir. 

Q. Are you aware that there was a copy of that memorandum in the 
hands of the Secretary of the Navy ? Are you aware that there was ? — 
A. I am not aware, or was not aware of it. I know I did not give any 
copy of it to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q. Now, Lieutenant Caziarc testifies that he not only gave you a copy 
of that memorandum, which I think he states you told him you would 
present to the Chief Signal Officer, but there was another copy which went 
with the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington. So there seemed to be 
two copies of the paper, one that went through you to the Chief Signal 
Officer, and another copy that happened to get to the Secretary of the Navy 



150 PROCEEDINGS Oi^ PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

in some other way ; at any rate there were two copies of the memorandum. 
State if you know anything about that. — A. I do not know, sir; I do not 
know why a copy should have been made of the paper, for it was not an 
official paper, in the sense that it was not addressed to anybody, not signed 
by anybody. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with General Hazen on that morn- 
ing in regard to these papers you presented to him, the tenor of the instruc- 
tion to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. I think not, further than to call his 
attention to them, I having had them hektographed and proper copies made 
ready for him. 

Q. Have you any recollection or can you give from memory a list of the 
papers that were submitted ? — A. No, sir ; not other than that there were 
the scientific instructions. 

Q. Were the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington among the papers ? 
— A. Yes, sir; but they had not yet been hektographed or completed, and I 
did not know but that General Hazen would still have some changes to 
make. 

Q. But still the papers were there for General Hazen ? — A. I think so. 

Q. You are not certain of it? — A. I am reasonably certain of it. 

Q. Might not this memorandum have been among those papers and you 
not have noticed it? — A. Yes, sir; it is possible it was on the desk, but I 
think not. 

Q. Why do you think not? — A. I do not think I ever saw any other 
copy than the rough notes. 

Q. Did you hear anything about the memorandum after that date ? — A. 
No, sir; I did not know what instructions, and did not know anything 
about the instructions finally given to Lieutenant Garlington. 

Q. So you did not know whether the instructions contained in that 
memorandum were given to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. I did not. 

Q. You are not therefore one of those who thought after the disaster 
that Lieutenant Garlington had disobeyed these orders? — A. Not at all. 

Q. You knew nothing about it? — A. I did not know in what shape 
they were given to him. 

By the Recoeder: 

Q. Can you remember how many days before the 4th of June, when 
General Hazen on that Monday morning returned to his desk, it was that 
you saw the Secretary of the Navy? — A. I might fix that date as being 
the date of the telegram to General Hazen at Saint Johns, to know what 
would be the northern limits of the voyage. I could only fix it in that 
way. 

Q. It was the same day? — A. The same day, I think. 

Q,. Then how soon after that telegram did you instruct Mr. Caziarc to 
make the memorandum for the use of the Secretary of the Navy ? — A. I 
think it was the same day. 

Q. How soon after that did you see these rough notes ? — A. A day or 
two subsequently. 

Q. Do you remember what time of day it was when Lieutenant Caziarc 
showed you these rough notes ? — A. No, sir, not at all. 

Q. What day of the week? — A. No, sir. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 151 

Q. They were shown to you before General Hazen's return^ however ? 
— A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you remember whether you were at the office on Sunday, the 
day previous to General Hazen's return? — A. I might have dropped in 
for a moment, as I usually do, but not for any special work. 

Q. Was it your custom to go to the office on Sunday? — A. To just 
drop into the office in the morning. 

Q. You have no recollection of being there that day and seeing Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Then, if he prepared those rough notes on Sunday, June 3, and 
showed them to you before General Hazen's return, and you were not at 
the office or had no conversation with him on that Sunday, they must have 
been shown to you on Monday, prior to General Hazen's return ? — A. 
Yes, sir ; under that hypothesis. 

Q. Now I will ask you when you received the instructions to Lieuten- 
ant Garlington and the memorandum for scientific work which you think 
you turned over to General Hazen — how many days before June 4, when 
General Hazen returned? — A. It was several days before the general's 
return. 

Q,. Before or after your interview with the Secretary of the Navy and 
the day you sent the telegram? — A. I should think it was before, or about 
the time of my interview. 

Q. Did you take those instructions to the Navy Department when you 
went to see the Secretary of the Navy ? 

The Witness, Mr. Garlington's instructions ? 

The Court. Yes. 

A. I did not, sir. 

Q. From whom did you receive the copy of those instructions ? — A. I 
suppose from Mr. Caziarc ; I cannot say definitely. 

Q,. Do you remember what the Chief Signal Officer's reply was to your 
telegrams? I think they were in evidence; but I cannot find them in the 
Appendix just now. — A. I think there were two telegrams from the gen- 
eral. 

Q. What is your recollection of the tenor of them? — A. I would rather 
see the telegrams ; perhaps they would refresh my memory. One was to 
withhold the instructions until his return, and I think the other was that 
the vessel would not be required to go into dangerous ice, or something to 
that effect. 

Q. Did Lieutenant Garlington, prior to his sailing, have any conversa- 
tion with you about the memorandum or the subject of it? — A. No, sir. 

Q. And you don't remember any conversation with Lieutenant Caziarc 
subsequent to General Hazen's return respecting that memorandum? — A. 
No, sir ; I think there was none. 

Q. Do I understand that you had only one interview with the Secretary 
of the Navy? — A. I think that after getting General Hazen's telegrams I 
showed them to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q. You saw him after receiving the telegram? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What took place at that interview? 

The Witness. Does one of those telegrams say when the General 
would be back? 

The Recordee. They are on page 75. You can look at them. 



152 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

A. I think I saw the Secretary of the Navy and explained to him when 
the General would return and the general purport of these telegrams. I 
think that was all. I merely conveyed to him what I knew on that subject. 

Q. Did you have interviews with other officers of the Navy Depart- 
ment? — A. Commodore Walker was present — I think it was Commodore 
Walker. 

Q. At this second interview ? — A. At the first interview, I think. 

Q. And not at the second? — A, And possibly at the second. 

Q,. Did you have other interviews with them separately? — A. Not in 
connection with this work, sir. 

Q. Not in connection with Lieutenant Garlington's expedition? — A. 
No, sir. 

Q. Up to the time of your being relieved by General Hazen on June 
4, do you know of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington being furnished 
to the Navy Department? — A, No, sir; I do not. I did not furnish 
them nor order them furnished. 

Q. And you think it Avas as early as May 20, that you instructed 
Mr. Caziarc to prepare a memorandum for the use of the Secretary of the 
Navy, do you ? 

The Witness. My telegrams to the general are not here, are they ? 

The Kecoree. No, sir. 

A. I think it must have been at that time. 

Q. And you cannot fix with any certainty how soon after Lieutenant 
Caziarc showed you this paper? — A. Except that it was very soon after- 
wards. I needed the paper before I knew that the general would return — 
this compilation before I knew when the general would return, and I had 
no use for it after knowing definitely when the general would return. 

Q. When you knew on the 21st that he would be back about June 2, 
you did not care about seeing it? — A. There was no necessity for complet- 
ing the matter. 

Q. Have you any further knowledge, Captain Powell, upon the subject 
of this expedition? — A. No, sir; I do not know of anything further bear- 
ing upon the inquiry. 

Q. There is a letter here in the appendix addressed to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington, informing him that he must be responsible for seeing that the stores 
were furnished, that the expedition was properly provisioned. What in- 
duced the writing of that letter? — A. That his personal care should be 
directed to it; I did not know it was needed, but as a precaution, so it could 
not be afterwards said that he was not informed, so that he would person- 
3 lly see to it. 

Q. It referred to the shipment in New York, did it? — A. To all the 
work ; I think that letter referred specially to the shipment in New York, 
though ; some stores to be shipped from Washington, too, I think. It 
was not called for by any idea that there was any lack of zeal on Mr> Gar- 
lington's part. 

By the Couet : 
Q. You stated in your testimony that you gave instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc to get up this memorandum for the Secretary of the Navy ? 
— A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. And he afterward showed you the memorandum he had prepared 
r the Secretary of the Navy ? — A. Yes, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 153 

Q. And you decided not to do anything about '\t, but to await the re- 
turn of the Chief Signal Officer? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Didn't you suppose then that that memorandum would be presented 
to the Chief Signal Officer ? — A. Lieutenant Caziarc in his position as 
Adjutant-General I knew would know just what had been done with the 
paper, and that he could present it to the Chief Signal Officer again if he 
wished to. 

Q. Was it not your intention that it should be presented to the Chief 
Signal Officer? — A. No, sir ; I did not give any orders on the subject. 

Q. Then, what was the use of having the letter prepared ? — A. The 
papers were not called for at all. It was not what was in my mind. 

Q. Then, did you not tell Lieutenant Caziarc that it did not come up 
to what you intended in your instructions ? — A. I cannot recall what I 
said to him, but it would be in my mind to have done so, I think. 

Q. If you had done so don't you think it would have been contrary to 
your orders, his submitting it to the Chief Signal Officer who had not 
called for it himself? — A. I do not think I did submit it. 

Q. That he should have submitted it himself? — A. I do not quite get 
at your meaning. 

Q. When he submitted the paper to you if you had disapproved it or 
expressed to him that it was not the paper you expected him to prepare, 
that it did not embody the views of the Chief Signal Officer, &c., don't 
you think he would have destroyed the paper instead of submitting it to 
the Chief Signal Officer himself when he did not do it through you ? — A. 
I think that would be natural, unless he was so interested in the matter 
that he saw fit to bring it up himself to the Chief Signal Officer. 

Q. I think he said in his testimony that 'he didn't have any interview 
with the Chief Signal Officer at all. He supposed that you had. — A. 
His position as Adjutant-General would have brought him in constant in- 
tercourse every moment of the day almost with the Chief Signal Officer 
on matters connected with the office. 

Q. Do I understand you to say that you rejected, in your own mind, 
this memorandum prepared by Lieutenant Caziarc because it did not em- 
body the views of the Chief Signal Officer, as you understood them? — A. 
That is the impression I have now, sir. 

Q. What led you to think so? — A. I suppose principally the question 
of landing on Littleton Island. 

Q. On the way up ? — A. Yes sir. 

Q. There had, then, been some conversation with the Chief Signal Officer 
to give you that impression ? — A. I cannot say as to that as well as to 
the fact that he seemed to be giving a plan of operations for Lieutenant 
Garlington to work on when the instructions had been alreadydetermined 
upon by the Chief Signal Officer, and these were new apparently — an addi- 
tion and a change. 

Q. Well, didn't it occur to you there were some very wise suggestions 
in that memorandum ? — A. I did not study the subject to ascertain suffi- 
ciently to determine that, it not being in my division of work. 

Q. Then it was only from reading the draft of instructions as you had 
seen them that you got the impression that those views embodied in the 
memorandum were not in accordance with the views of the Chief Signal 



154 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Officer? — A. I think the impression made on me was that they were Mr. 
Caziarc's views. 

Q. Yes ; but how did you get the impression that they were not also the 
views of the Chief Signal Officer — that they were at variance with the 
views of the Chief Signal Officer? — A. I think principally on account of 
the Littleton Island matter. It opened a new scheme in connection with 
the work which I thought had been already settled and determined upon 
by the Chief Signal Officer. 

Q. Settled and determined upon by the preparation of the draft of in- 
struction, or how was it settled upon ? — A. This long letter to Lieutenant 
Garlington in explanation of what should be done, and which had passed 
from one officer to another through the bureau for note or suggestion. 

Q. But those instructions were still open for change, were they not ? — 
A. Yes, sir ; but the general plan as to the work was delineated in that 
letter. 

Q. But the instructions were still open to modification ? — A. Yes, sir ; 
open until officially signed. 

Q. Until the expedition got beyond reach, I suppose ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who gave you the papers that you presented to the Chief Signal 
Officer on that day ? — A. They must have been given to me by Lieutenant 
Caziarc. I do not know of any other way I could have gotten them. 

Q. Don't you remember whether he did give you those papers ? — A. 
No, ;sir. I think that Lieutenant Powell was acting adjutant, and he 
might have handed them to me. They would have come through the 
channel of the executive office, the adjutant-general's office of the Sig- 
nal Corps. There was no other way I could get them. 

Q. You don't know whether those are the very papers that General 
Hazen acted upon ? — A. No, sir ; I do not know what papers General 
Hazen acted upon at all. 

Q. You are not positive that the memorandum was not among those 
papers? — A. To the best of my recollection it was not, sir. 

Q. You remember now distinctly whether you looked over those papers, 
examined them all separately ? — A. Not further than in a general way to 
know that the instructions were there together. 

Q. But the memorandum might have been in there and you not have 
noticed it ? — A. Yes, sir ; but I think not. 

Q,. And you think so because you do not remember seeing it? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. Lieutenant Caziarc says that early on Monday morning when he 
came to the office the clerks had copied that memorandum; that rough 
sketch had been copied, and that it was a copy of that which was fur- 
nished to you ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And that you informed him that you had given that copy to the 
Chief Signal Officer. Do you remember anything of that, does that recall 
it to your mind? — A. No, sir; I do not recollect any such conversation. 

Q. It must probably have been copied into the books of the office? — A. 
It was not in such shape as to have ever gone into the books. 

Q,. From this rough memorandum he had a copy made, and that copy 
he said he had furnished to you ? — A. Yes, sir; but it probably could not 
have been on the books in the office, because it was not really an official 
paper. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 155 

Q. He said it was copied by the clerks. If there was ouly one clerk 
probably there was only one copy made? — A. I do not recollect any 
copy. To the best of my recollection there were only the rough notes — 
the originals. 

The court then took a recess for half an hour. 



AFTER RECESS. 

Lieut. Louis V. Caziaec, Second Artillery, was recalled and examined, 
as follows: 

By the Recorder : 

Question. The Court desires to inquire of you with reference to the 
time when you prepared the memorandum, Enclosure No. 4. It appears 
on your testimony, on page 75, that two telegrams were received from 
General Hazen, the latter on May 21st, "Will be back about June 2; hold 
all instructions until I come. Tender to be at St. John's, say, June 25th." 
It is Captain Powell's recollection that his first interview with the Secre- 
tary of the Navy was before those telegrams were received, and that at the 
time of sending the first telegram, about May 20, he gave you iustructions to 
prepare a draft of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, and that it was 
in consequence of those instructions that you submitted to him this rough 
memorandum. Do you remember definitely when you submitted to him 
first that rough draft? — Answer. I am very clear so far as my recollection 
can serve me that I prepared that memorandum on the 3d of June in ac- 
cordance with Captain Powell's direction on the day previous, and I am 
confirmed in this recollection by a comparison of the date with the Gene- 
ral's return two days subsequently, on the 4th, and by the fact of my hav- 
ing made a comparison with Mr. Garlington the day between. Those facts 
are clear to my memory. 

Q,. Do you remember in reference to those telegrams? Do you know 
anything about the telegram sent, of May 20, being in consequence of Cap- 
tain Powell's interview with the Secretary of the Navy? — A. That I do 
not know. I am not well advised about the interviews that took place be- 
tween those two officers — how many, or what the nature of them was, or 
when. 

Q. You don't remember Captain Powell's instructing you, about May 
20 or 21, to prepare a memorandum for the use of the Secretary of the 
Navy ? — A. No, sir ; I am sure that he did not, for I remember it to have 
been on Saturday, and that I prepared it on Sunday, and May 20 or 21 
do not run to those days of the week sufficiently near, even if my recol- 
lection did not serve me otherwise, even if I were not so positive in my 
recollection that the matter was placed in his hands Monday when the 
general returned, and the action passed over to him. Of that I am clear. 

Q,. You remember it was given to him the same day General Hazen 
returned, early in the morning ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. General Hazen returned in the morning ? — A. Yes, sir ; and was 
in his office on the 4th of June. 

Q. Did you hand Captain Powell that memorandum and copies at that 
time yourself? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You did, yourself? — A. Yes, sir. 



156 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Did you hand him any other papers with that memorandum ? — A. 
No, sir ; he had the papers in his hand. 

Q. When did he get them ? — A. He had taken the subject in his hands 
and prepared that memorandum of instructions in accordance with the 
general's desire, and he turned that letter over to the general as part of 
the unfinished -work on the desk of the chief, as I understand. 

Q. So that the only papers you handed to him on that Monday morn- 
ing was the copy of that rough draught — memorandum ? — A. Yes, sir ; I 
may have returned to him with them such papers as I borrowed from him 
on Sunday for the purpose of looking over the instructions that had been 
prepared ; not otherwise. 

Q. You did not hand to him on that morning the instructions of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, and if he got them he got them from a clerk, or some- 
body else? — A, He had them already in his hands. 

Q. You gave him a copy of this memorandum, you are positive, on that 
morning? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you ever see that copy afterwards? — A, No, sir. 

By the Court : 

Q. You said in your previous testimony that there was another copy 
made? — A. I think that I said that the copy that went to Mr.' Garlington 
was not that copy. 

Q. You said you had this rough draught, and two copies were made? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. One went to Captain Powell, and the other was got into the papers 
to Lieutenant Garlington? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know how that second one got among the papers of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington? 

[No answer.] 

Q. Then I will ask you the question in another way. The papers that 
Captain Powell had in his hands when you handed this memorandum 
marked 4, were those papers the instructions to be delivered to Lieutenant 
Garlington? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. Then if there were two copies what became of the second copy ? — 
A. I will have to go into details a little minutely. 

Q. Let us have them. — A. Captain Powell delivered me those papers, 
from which copies were made in my division, most of them by hekto- 
graph. 

Q. That is prior to June 4 ? — A. On the same day of June 4 — between 
the morning of June 4 and the evening of June 5. The instructions were 
prepared from the memorandum which Captain Powell held in his hands 
on the morning of June 4, including this memorandum in question. The 
papers which he theii held were used as the basis of the original instruc- 
tions which were prepared in my division from those papers ; and by 
some means this memorandum was called for and was copied from the 
original or from the rough and was added to those instructions. They were 
all placed before General Hazen for his signature. 

Q. Be a little more explicit in the details. I want to know who did it 
and when and how? — A. Yes, sir; I can't say whether they were all re- 
ceived together from General Hazen or not. 

Q. That is at the end. Begin at the beginning. — A. Captain Powell 
had, on the 4th day of June, in his hands copies of the instructions to 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 157 

Lieutenants Garlington and Greely, which he held to be submitted to the 
general. 

Q. How do you know that he had them ? — A. Because I saw them ; 
because they came to me in order to have copies made which were to go 
to these officers, and are still in my possession. 

Q. Then you made copies of those during that day and the next? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. And those copies did you return to Captain Powell ? — A. Those 
copies I returned all together to General Hazen. 

Q. Yourself?— A. Myself. 

Q. Did you place them in General Hazen's hands at that time, or on 
his table? — A. In General Hazen's hands. 

Q. Did those copies contain a copy of that memorandum ? — A. They did. 

Q. Was that copy the same that you had handed to Captain Powell ? — 
A. It was. 

Q. What became of the second copy ? Was that copy the same ? — A . 
No, sir ; that was the second copy. 

Q. Was it the first copy you gave to Captain Powell that disap- 
peared ? — A. That disappeared. 

Q. Captain Powell in his testimony this morning stated that those 
papers which gave the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington — that he pre- 
sented all those papers. Laid them on the desk in the presence of the 
Chief Signal Officer on the morning of the 4th. — A. My recollection is, 
that most of the days of the 4th and 5th of June were spent in the prep- 
aration of these instructions, and that Captain Powell was in conference 
with the general a considerable part of those two days, the general not 
talking much to me about these instructions. I may have received all the 
papers from him together, or as each was reduced to hektograph. I 
remember I asked the general to get them as rapidly as possible in 
order to have them hektographed, as we had to make quite a number, some 
for the press as well as the officers. I have a further definite recollection 
that before the orders were laid before the general for his signature, they 
were all put together, and that they included at that time a copy of this 
memorandum ; that they were given into the general's hands for his signa- 
ture before they would be sent, and I have a further recollection of some 
missing paper, but what I cannot now say. There was, perhaps, a list of 
the stores shipped to St. John's, or some other paper had been omitted. 

Q. When you showed Captain Powell the rough draft of the memoran- 
dum what conversation passed between you ? — A. I do not remember dis- 
tinctly. 

Q. Do you remember whether he took any exception or expressed any 
opinion that it did not embody the views that he expected would be 
embodied in it? — A. I do not remember. 

Q. Did he give you any instructions in regard to the use that should 
be made of that paper ? — A. No, sir ; it was given to him to be given by 
him to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q. But that was when you showed him the rough draft? — A. No, sir, 
he never saw the rough draft. 

Q. He only saw the copy ? — A. He saw the copy made from that rough 
draft. 



168 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. When you gave it to him what did you suppose he intended to do 
with it ? — A. Give it to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Q, He says he never gave it to the Secretary of the Navy ; still there 
is testimony that it was in the Navy Department. How did it get there? 
— A. I understood from General Hazen that he took it there. 

Q. General Hazen says that he never saw it or knew anything about 
it until it was shown to him by Lieutenant Garlington ?— A. My recol- 
lection IS I called General Hazen's attention to it two or three different 
times, and that on the first or second of those times he informed me that 
he had not used it, and on the last time he told me he had taken it to the 
Navy Department, and that instructions would be drawn in conformity 
with it. 

Q. He must have taken it the 3d, 4th, 5th, or 6th of June? — A. I do 
not think it was earlier than the 6th of June. 

Q. You say that the copy was made by the clerks and handed to Captain 
Powell. Was that at the same time entered on the regular books? — A. 
No, sir. That was my purpose when I asked General Hazen whether it 
had gone into the papers, so as to make it a matter of record. But it never 
was made a matter of record. 

Q. You mean at that time, do you not? — A. Never except as an inclos- 
ure to Mr. Garlington's instructions. 

Q. As such it is recorded ? — A . Yes, sir, as such it is recorded, with the 
errors that have been noted. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q.. I want to ask one question. You stated that several copies of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington's instructions were made, and among others some for the 
press ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you remember whether or not any of those copies for the press 
embraced what is known as the supplemental instructions? — A. They 
did not, those that were distributed at first, before the departure of the 
expedition. 

Q. In point of fact the instructions were published in the National Re- 
publican here as of the 9th of June, I think, or about that date. Were 
those instructions given out from your office? — A. They were. That is, 
I presume they were. They were given to the press generally, to any that 
applied. 

Q. The papers known as the supplemental instructions were not fur- 
nished as part of the instructions at that time? — A. No, sir; not before 
the departure of the expedition. 

By Captain Powell (by permission of the court) : 
Q. Were not the rough draughts of papers which you prepared generally 
read from your own handwriting to the Chief Signal Officer — before being 
acted on, I mean? — A. No; I think not. 

Q. I mean papers that had not been copied, but contained merely your 
views or those of the Chief Signal Officer as to what action should be taken 
on general subjects. Were they not generally in your own handwriting ? — 
A. That is a difficult question to answer. Where the direction of the 
chief is clear, and it admits of easy preparation, the matter is generally 
submitted to him in a form for signature, read by him before he signs it, . 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 159 

and amended as he may require and taken back; otherwise our business 
would be too slow. But where a paper is prepared for him by me it is 
often by dictation to a stenographer, as often as in my own handwriting. 
Q. Generally are not his papers submitted in your handwriting? — A. 
I think not. I never laid any stress on that point. A good deal of my 
work is done by dictation to a stenographer, and of course never appears 
in my handwriting at all. 

By the Couet : 

Q. What is your idea now of the reason you furnished Captain Powell 
with a copy of that memorandum ? — A. I furnished him a copy in clear 
writing without any of the interlineations or erasures which will be found 
in the original, that he might take it as he had asked to the Secretary of 
the Navy. My own manuscript would have been unsuitable for that and 
would have removed the only original there was. 

Q. Were there clerks in the office on Sunday? — A. The usual Sunday 
detail. 

Q,. And a copy was made on that Sunday? — A. To the best of my rec- 
ollection. 

By Captain Powell : 

Q. Then the copy that was presented by you as written by that clerk 
was the first that was presented by you ? — A. Yes, sir ; the first and only 
one. 

Q. Then you assumed that it would be adopted and go to the Secretary 
of the Navy without any change or recommendation whatever? — A. Not 
at all ; I assumed that any changes that were proper would he made in 
it, but it was in such shape that if adopted without change it might be 
immediately used. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Do you know what day copies of the instructions were furnished to 
the press before the departure of the expedition, or about the time of it? — 
A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know who made the copies for the press ? — A. The copies 
furnished were only of those papers that were hektographed, and they 
were all made I think by one clerk, probably by Mr. Thelon, of my divis- 
ion, who has the best hand for hektograph work. 

Q. Who furnished him instructions to copy ? — A. I did. 

Q. Were these instructions on record ; had they been copied on the books 
of your office ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Then you took them from the memorandum copies, the original 
copies ? — A. Either from the rough or the hektograph copies or memo- 
randum copies made for the purpose. 

Q. Was the paper commonly designated as Inclosure 4 among the 
papers? — A. It was; I think you will find that in the testimony before 
more distinctly. 

By the Court : 
Q. Why didn't you furnish a copy of Inclosure 4 for publication at 
that time ? — A. None of the inclosures were furnished, nothing but the 
original hektograph letter to Lieutenant Garlington, so far as I remember. 



160 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

By Mr. Kent: 

Q. I think that the copies of Tnclosure 4 that have been furnished here 
are all in the same handwriting, are they not? — A. That I do not remember. 

Q. You don't know whether those furnished to Lieutenant Garlington 
were in the same handwriting? — A. I do not know. 

Q. Did any clerk have access to those papers to furnish copies other 
than such as given by yourself? — A. My chief clerk had charge of them. 

Q. In point of fact do you know how many copies of those instructions 
were among Lieutenant Garlington's papers finally before he left? 

The Witness. What instructions ? 

Q. How many copies of instructions known as Inclosure 4 were among 
Lieutenant Garlington's papers ? — A. Not more than one, so far as 1 
know. 

Q,. I understand you do not now know who copied the memorandum 
that was given Lieutenant Garlington? — A. I do not now know. 

By the Recordee : 

Q. You can ascertain ? — A. Without doubt ; I will ascertain if you wish 
to know. The original of the paper is in the hands of the court, I think. 

Q. Perhaps it would be well that Lieutenant Caziarc should now ascer- 
tain who copied it, and send over here the clerk who copied it. Will he 
do so? — A. It is possible I can tell by looking at this. [Looks at the 
paper.] No; I do not know, but I will ascertain. 

The recorder informed the court that General Hazen had furnished an 
affidavit of Maj. John P. Hawkins, commissary of subsistence, in refer- 
ence to the stores furnished to the expeditions under the command of Lieu- 
tenants Greely and Garlington, together with a list of those stores, which 
the recorder offered in evidence and the court directed to be attached to the 
record as an exhibit. 

The paper was then read and is so attached. It is an affidavit that he 
performed this duty, and that the stores were of the very best quality 
and most carefully selected. 

The court then (at a quarter past 2) adjourned until 11 o'clock to- 
morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 
Thursday, December 20, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members 
and the recorder. The record of the proceedings of the previous day was 
read, corrected, and approved. 

Lieut. Louis V. Caziarc was recalled, and examined as follows: 
By the Recorder : 

Q,. When you were here yesterday you were asked to ascertain what 
clerk in your office copied Inclosure No. 4, called the supplementary in- 
structions to Lieutenant Garlington's orders. Have you ascertained that 
fact? — A. It was Private Connor, of the Signal Service. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 161 

Q. Is he at present in the office? — A. He is now at Tatoosh Island,. 
Washington Territory, off Cape Flattery. 

Capt. William H. Clapp, of the Sixteenth Infantry, was then intro- 
duced as a witness, duly sworn, and examined as follows: 

By the E,ecordee : 

Question. During what time, captain, were you last on duty in the 
office of the Chief Signal Officer in this city ? — Answer. I was there on 
duty from early in July, 1881, until the 20th day of last June. 

Q. What branch of the duty was last in your charge ? — A. I was in 
charge of several branches of duty during that time ; the division of 
printing and lithographing was one of my duties, and I was also in charge 
of the division of observation ^and research in the Arctic seas for a time. 

Q. During the whole time ? — A. I think from the time that division 
was established, in December, 1881, if I remember correctly, until the 
date of my going on leave of absence, which occurred on the 20th of 
June, this year. 

Q,. State in the form of a narrative, as concisely as you can, without 
omitting any material matter, what you know respecting the fitting out of 
the expedition under charge of Lieutenant Greely. — A. The original 
expedition of Lieutenant Greely had been undertaken and he, with his 
party, had sailed prior to my joining the office for duty. At the time the 
Arctic division, as it was commonly called, was created, there were in the 
property division and correspondence division quite a mass of papers 
bearing on the subject of Lieutenant Greely's expedition, which covered 
everything relating to the matter from its inception up to that time. These 
were sent to me for examination, and I had them in my possession during 
the winter of 1881 and 1882, and for some time subsequently. General 
Hazen especially directed me, when taking charge of that division, to make 
myself not only familiar with the papers and the action which had already 
been taken, but with the various conditions of Arctic life and travel, so as 
to become thoroughly conversant with the whole subject and be able to 
render assistance when expeditions or reliefs should be fitted out. I did 
so; and in the spring of 3 882 such a relief expedition was fitted out and 
went to those waters. 

Q,. Did you, under the direction of the Chief Signal Officer, supervise 
the details of the fitting out of that expedition? — A. I should, perhaps, 
explain that the expedition of 1882 had for its object simply the supply- 
ing of Lieutenant Greely with additional stores, and replacing by new men 
such of his men as might have become disabled. The work devolving 
upon that expedition was very much less than that of the expedition of 
this year. There was very little to do with regard to the expedition of 
1882 except to obtain from the proper departments of the Government 
such stores as Lieutenant Greely had asked and see them sent. I obtained 
such stores upon requisition, inspected them in New York, and saw them 
on board the steamer for St. John's, them and the party together. The in- 
structions which were given to the person in charge of the expedition were 
not prepared by me, and my recollection is I had nothing to do with their 
preparation. 

Q. By whom were they prepared, you may state? — A. I am unable to 
say. 

S. Ex. 100 11 



162 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q, Who commanded that expedition ? — A. It would be difficult to 
speak of any one as having been in command. Mr. Beebe was sent up, 
more in charge than command, I should say. 

Q. Who was Mr. Beebe ? — A. He was at that time, I think, a general- 
service clerk on duty at General Hazen's office, and afterwards employed 
under the new rules of the War Department. I do not know the exact 
term to be applied in regard to him. 

Q. He is now deceased, is he not ? — A. I so understand it. 

Q. He had been an officer in the military service ? — A. Yes, sir ; he 
had served during the war, and after the war as captain in the Thirty- 
eighth Infantry. 

Q. Proceed, coming to your narrative about the expedition of 1883. — 
A. The expedition of 1882 failed in some measure to accomplish all that 
was intended or desired, and by reason of that failure the work of 1883 
was made more necessary, and certain things were required to be done 
which would not have been necessary had the expedition of 1882 been a 
complete success. On the return of Mr, Beebe's party the work of pre- 
paring for the expedition of this year was immediately begun. I had en- 
deavored by careful study of all I could find in print on the subject, and 
by repeated conversations with the chief engineer, Mellville, and Lieuten- 
ant Berry and Seaman Ninderman, to become acquainted with all the ne- 
cessities of life in that region, and with the best mode of effecting the relief 
of Lieutenant Greely and his party. The conditions to be met with — I 
had also some years ago quite an acquaintance with Capt, Clements 
Markham, of the English navy, and had studied his reports, as well as 
those of Captain Nares. In these various ways I was prepared to sug- 
gest to the Chief Signal Officer all that seemed to be necessary to make 
the expedition of this year a success ; I mean with reference to the sup- 
plies obtained, the amount and kind of clothing necessary, food, the boats, 
tents, sledges, traveling gear of all kinds, which would be best suited for 
the work the men were expected to do. I had very many and frequent 
conversations with the Chief Signal Officer on these subjects, and it was 
usual with me to keep private memoranda of suggestions and ideas as 
they might be obtained or occur to me, and take them to the gen- 
eral and converse with him on the subject. He impressed me as at all 
times during the winters of 1882 and 1883 as extremely desirous to 
promote the success of the expedition, and as wishing to adopt the safest 
and most prudent plan for the expedition in every way. In almost all 
things which I suggested to him he expressed his concurrence, and so 
far as the outfit of the expedition was concerned I think he fully approved 
of the plans which I submitted to him at various times. Some of the sup- 
plies for the expedition had been obtained, or were in prospect of being 
immediately obtained, at the date Lieutenant Garlington reported here for 
duty in connection with the work, and very shortly after his arrival I was 
directed by the Chief Signal Officer to transfer to Lieutenant Garlington 
all matters from the Arctic division relating to his proposed relief expe- 
dition. I did so, and after that time had very little to do with the carrying 
out and completion of these plans of which I have spoken. I had, 
however, numerous conversations with Lieutenant Garlington on subjects 
relating to the expedition, and conversed with him freely in regard to the 
supplies, and what might be needed. Subsequent to being relieved of 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 163 

this work, as I have stated, my further coanection with the matter was 
to draft, by General Hazen's direction, a plan of instruction for Lieuten- 
ant Garlington, which I did informally, I think, making a very rough 
draft, which I took to the Chief Signal Officer and read to him, expecting 
to make a clear copy before submitting it. He, however, retained the 
paper, and although I saw it several times afterward, I think I had 
nothing further to' do with it. 

Q. I understand you to say you familiarized yourself with the history 
of the Greely expedition from the papers ana records of the office? — A. 
I did so, most thoroughly. 

Q. Did you ascertain the amount of stores and supplies, subsistence 
stores, that Lieutenant Greely had on his departure? — A. I did obtain 
the information from the Commissary-General regarding such stores as 
had been furnished by that Department, and then by reference to the pur- 
chases made for Lieutenant Greely by the proper officer I was able to know 
what stores he had. 

Q. At the time you prepared the draft of instructions what period of 
time did you estimate those stores would last? 

The Witness. The stores Lieutenant Greely had with him? 

The Recorder. Yes, sir. 

A. I do not think a definite estimate on that subject was ever made. 
It would have been very easy, of course, to ascertain how many rations, or 
the equivalent of how many rations, his stores would amount to, but know- 
ing, as was well known, that the conditions of life, faod, and supplies are 
very much different from those which have to be encountered here, and 
that there was always the question of game and how much might be ob- 
tained, it was difficult at any time to say just for how long a period Lieu- 
tenant Greely's party was rationed. It was generally understood that he 
was rationed until the fall of this year, but it was known he had a very 
liberal allowance, and probably in one way and another that supply of 
food would last a longer period if necessary. 

Q. But he was rationed according to Army allowance? — A. No, sir; he 
was supplied, but I would not restrict it that way. 

Q. On what basis in reference to the Army rations ; on what percentage 
added ? — A. I am unable to say what percentage was added, but on a lib- 
eral allowance for climate and the wants of his men it was known that he 
had an abundance until late this fall, and without doubt something more. 

Q. Was that conclusion or idea the basis of the information contained 
in Lieutenant Garlington's instructions as to when his supplies would be 
likely to become exhausted ? — A. Yes, sir ; it was understood at the time 
Lieutenant Greely left that he had with him full and ample supplies for 
two years. In general terms his supplies would be expected to be out 
this fall ; that was understood with a margin always. 

Q. And for that reason Lieutenant Garlington was instructed accord- 
ingly? — A. Yes, sir; the supplies to be taken by Lieutenant Garlington 
were based upon the possibility, or perhaps the probability, of his party 
being unable to reach Lieutenant Greely and being required to winter in the 
vicinity of Littleton Island, when the coml)ined parties would be expected 
to be fed with the stores taken by Lieutenant Garlington. 

Q. He had supplies for the combined parties for how long ? — A. The 
general idea was to obtain ample supplies for forty people for fifteen months, 



164 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

that being the estimated number of the combined party, including the Es- 
kimo, of whom we had not definite information. 

Q,. State fully what you know, if anything, in reference to the proposed 
plan of making a large depot of supplies before the relieving ship should 
encounter the most dangerous ice of Smith Sound. — A, Lieutenant 
Greely in his letter, I think of August 17th, after his arrival at Dis- 
covery Harbor, had sketched a plan of operations for the relief party of 
1882, and in the event of the failure of the party, for the relief of himself 
and his men in 1883. In that he had especially requested that the plan 
be followed exactly, and that no deviation or latitude should be permitted 
to the rescuing party. In various conversations I had with General Hazen^ 
he had stated to me that he would not approve of any deviation from the 
plan submitted, furnished by Lieutenant Greely, but in studying the sub- 
ject it had appeared to me that in the event of Lieutenant Greely having 
to retreat southward he could only do so by the west coast of Kennedy 
Channel and Smith Sound until reaching about the neighborhood of Cape 
Sabine. 

Q. State your grounds for that opinion. — A. Simply because of the 
impracticability of any other route, and I am not aware of any sledge jour- 
ney having been made on the east coast of those two bodies of water. The 
travel has been in all cases, so far as I am informed, along the west coast. 
Not only that, but the condition of the currents in those waters forces the 
ice against the eastern coast and impedes the navigation very much more 
than on the western coast. It had occurred to me, with that in view, that 
the party if required to winter could do so just as w'ell upon the western 
coast as upon the eastern, and that by establishing the winter quarters and 
depot of supplies at or above Cape Sabine, on the west coast, there would 
be an increased measure of safety for Lieutenant Greely's party; that at 
least he would not be required to cross thirty miles of broken and grinding 
ice lying between Cape Sabine and Life Boat Cove or Littleton Island, and 
it also occurred to me that as most vessels visiting those waters had been at 
times imperiled from the ice, and that the Neptune, the relieving ves- 
sel in 1882 had been seriously and dangerously nipped in Smith Sound^ 
that it would be a measure of safety to establish a depot of provisions 
while the vessel was on her upward trip. I recommended this to General 
Hazen, and urged it as strongly as I thought proper. He replied to me 
that Lieutenant Greely, who had been there and personally had seen the 
conditions to be encountered, had with evident care and thought made out 
the plan for his relief. 

Q. When Avas this that he first made that reply to you? — A. I am un- 
able to give the date. 

Q. How long before the expedition sailed ? — A. I think my conversa- 
tion was had with the Chief Signal Officer on several occasions. 

Q. I refer to the earliest of them, in which he expressed this opinion, 
that it would be a deviation from Lieutenant Greely's plan, and was not 
therefore to be considered ? — A. I should think sometime during the late 
winter or early spring of this year. 

By the Court : 
Q. Before Lieutenant Garlington reported for duty ? — A. I think so,, 
as after that time I did not feel free to make suggestions, the matter hav- 
ing been taken from my control. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 165 

Q. Then you did not make any suggestions after Lieutenant Garlington 
reported ? — A. Yes, sir, I did ; but it was not so much my duty or priv- 
ilege, perhaps I might say, as prior to that time. 

Q. You can go on. — A. As I stated, General Hazen had at all times in 
connection with this matter impressed me with the wish to follow out 
very closely the request made by Lieutenant Greely in his letter of 
August 17, 1881, and gave that as a reason for refusing to adopt my 
suggestion. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did you not then point out to GeneralHazen that there could be no 
objection against a deviation from Mr. Greely's plans that would be in the 
direction of greater safety ; that the modifications would involve no dis- 
appointment to Lieutenant Greely in his retreat, but be an additional pre- 
caution to insure his safety, and could not injuriously aifect his chances? — 
A. I did so, and, as I stated, called his attention to the fact that Lieuten- 
ant Greely's party must retreat by the way of the west coast to Cape Sa- 
bine in order to reach the proposed winter depot. 

Q. What did he think of that? — A, I am not able to say what he 
thought of it ; I can only say he did not adopt the view, and expressed 
to me his determination not to adopt any views which were in conflict 
with Lieutenant Greely's plans of operation. 

By the Court : 
Q. Was it your opinion that it was in conflict with his plan ? — A. It 
seemed to be only a modification of Lieutenant Greely's plan in the direc- 
tion of greater safety, and not in any way involving a departure from it. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did General Hazen at any other time favorably consider, as you un- 
derstand, or take into consideration the suggestion that there should be 
a large depot made before the ship entered far into Smith Sound ? — A. I 
never heard him express concurrence in any such view. 

Q. Did he ever refer to the sending of a naval tender as answering the 
same purpose? — A. No, sir; not to me in that connection. 

Q. When did you first hear of his wish or intention to ask for naval 
assistance on the expedition? — A. Some time after Lieutenant Garlington 
arrived, and then I heard it spoken of incidentally. I think I had very 
little conversation with General Hazen on the subject, simply referring to 
the matter, and asked, perhaps, if it was true, to which he replied it was 
true, and he desired to have a naval tender go. It was not, however, 
spoken of in that connection, or in my hearing at any time, as answering 
the purpose of a depot, but as being simply a movable point to which the 
crew of the relieving ship and the expedition could fall back in case of 
disaster, which was not expected. 

Q,. Was the matter of disaster fully considered; was it fully considered 
how the expedition under the command of Lieutenant Garlington should 
provide for the possible wreck of the ship? — A. From what happened 
subsequently I should think it was not fully considered. 

Q,. Do you know why more specific instructions were not given with a 
view to such a contingency ? In the way, I will say, of directing how the 
stores should be readily got at and of provisioning the boats ? — A. I had 
some conversation with Lieutenant Garlington — our desks being near 



166 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

together in the same room — touching the possibility of disaster to the 
vessel. I recall the subject of having certain stores available for use if 
recourse to the boats became necessary at any time, and making to him 
certain suggestions in regaid to the matter in an unofficial, personal way, 
as I did often. 

Q. Your connection with his instructions ended when he took charge, and 
before you knew, as I understand, that the naval tender was to be applied 
for? 

The Witness. My connection with his instructions ? 

The Eecorder. Yes. 

A. No, sir ; you misapprehend ; my official connection with the relief 
expedition ended on Lieutenant Garlington's arrival and assuming charge 
of those matters by direction of the Chief Signal Officer. 

Q. Was not that before you knew that the naval tender was to be sent ? — 
A. Quite so; but subsequent to his so arriving I was specially directed to 
make a sketch of instructions for him. I suppose it was given me to do 
simply because I was familiar with the matter, 

Q. Were the instructions you drew up made in connection with the 
idea that the naval tender was to go up there ? — A. No, sir ; that was not 
considered at that time. I had not heard of that at that time. 

Q. Then you do not perhaps know why more specific instructions were 
not given in reference to that matter? — A. No, sir. Although I was not 
relieved from the Signal Service until the 30th of June, I went on leave on 
the 20th of June, and those matters arose and were disposed subsequent to 
that time — no, I should not state that, that is not correct. I might say 
they were disposed of subsequent to my being relieved by Lieutenant Gar- 
lington. 

Q,. What knowledge have you, if any, of this paper spoken of as the sup- 
plementary instructions, Inclosure No. 4 ? — A. None whatever. I heard 
of it first in the published account which appeared soon after the loss of the 
Proteus was known. 

Q,. It, however, embodied the idea which you say you entertained of the 
advisability of making a depot ? — A. Not entirely. 

Q. Except as to the place of making the depot? — A. Except the place^ 
My impression now is, without being able to state positively, that I spoke 
of this matter informally to one or more officers. I think that Lieutenant 
Caziarc and myself had some conversation with regard to it. I know we 
did touch on the desirability and feasibility of establishing a winter sta- 
tion at Cape Sabine, but whether in that conversation the question of the 
depot of stores to be made on the way going up was discussed I am un- 
able to say. I have an impression that allusion at least was made to it. 

Q. What time do you refer to now ? — A. I am referring now to one of 
the conversations I had with the general on the subject, but the date of 
it I cannot give. 

Q. While you were in charge? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. We have testimony before the court in regard to the amount of sup- 
plies, subsistence stores Lieutenant Greely had ; do you know what amounts 
of ammunition he had ? — A. I do not. 

Q. Do you know whether he was well supplied ? — A. I am unable to. 
state of my own knowledge what supplies were taken on thft relief expe- 
dition of this year. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 16T 

Q. Oh, no ; I refer to Lieutenant Greely. — A. I depended for my knowl- 
edge on that subject entirely on the records of what had been transferred 
to him, and do not remember now what the amount of ammunition was.. 

Q. Were you impressed with the opinion that he was amply supplied 
with ammunition and arms? — A. I was so impressed, unless it might be 
that there was a dearth of ammunition for fowling-pieces, which would 
be desirable in procuring ducks at certain seasons and water-fowl. I re- 
member having doubts as to the supply of those articles. 

Q,. There is a telegram somewhere here in reference to procuring am- 
munition. On page 17 of the Appendix, a telegram dated Washington, 
June 28, 1881, to Lieutenant Greely, stating that — 

The Alliance has only two thousand rounds. Canuot spare a round. Have you got 
rifle, revolver, or shot-gun ammunition, ordered June 3, or is it at McHenry ? Can you 
wait for express shipment? Schneider's vouchers received, minus pay. 

CAZIARC. 

Q. Do you know anything of the history of that telegram, which seems 
to have been only a day or two before sailing? — A. I know nothing on 
the subject. The original of that was with the other papers relating to 
Lieutenant Greely 's expedition. 

Q. You don't know why no answer was ever received? — A. I do not. 
It was a transaction which occurred prior to the date I joined the office 
for duty. I did not join until about the middle of July following. 

Q. You do not know of any special information as to the precise 
amount of shot-gun ammunition that Lieutenant Greely had ? — A. My 
present impression is that the papers I have alluded to which were for- 
merly in my charge show those facts. 

Q. Were you consulted with reference to the request of Lieutenant 
Garlington as to proceeding by steamship to St. John's in order to see to 
the loading of his stores, so as to know where they could be found, in 
what part of the ship ? — A. I was not. 

Q. You know nothing about the action upon that matter ? — A. I heard 
the matter spoken of in conversations that occurred at the office at the 
time, but was not consulted in regard to it. 

Q. Do you know whether any, and, if so, please state what, discussion 
or conversations were held in the Signal Service Office between yourself 
and the Chief Signal Officer, or between yourself and Lieutenant Garling- 
ton or other officers, as to the possibility of disaster to the relief vessel, 
and what should be done, and what precaution should be taken in view of 
such possibility? — A. I think I had no conversations with any one on that 
subject excepting with the Chief Signal Officer and Lieutejiant Garlington. 
The conversations with Lieutenant Garlington were of a desultory charac- 
ter, fragmentary, and never touched upon a plan of operation; it being at 
all times apparent to me that no one in the office here in Washington, and 
particularly no one without experience, could attempt to prescribe a plan 
which could be followed on those seas in case of disaster; that the men so 
situated must of necessity be governed by the circumstances, almost none 
of which could by any possibility be foreseen. 

Q. My question refers more particularly to the measures to be taken 
before disaster to provide for such a contingency. To illustrate : for in- 
stance, you cannot direct what people shall do in ease of a fire in a hotel, 
with absolute precision, but you can instruct them to have plenty o f 



168 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

buckets of water, and have a fire apparatus in reach. — A. I think the 
only conversations I had with the Chief Signal Officer on that subject were 
at those times when I urged upon him the propriety of making a depot of 
stores in going up, in which I cited the experience of the Neptune of 
the previous year — called his attention to the fact that she had been 
seriously nipped in the ice. I do not think I heard discussed any general 
plan of operations in anticipation of the loss of the relief vessel. 

Q. Or any special provision for saving the provisions ? — A. No, sir ; 
I did not, those of necessity being governed by circumstances. 

Q. From your reading and examination of this subject generally, what 
is your opinion as to the practicability of retreating in latitude 82 as late 
as September 1st? — A. I do not think it practicable. The retreat by 
sledges, if made at all, can only be made in the spring of the year. 

Q. Spring or summer ? — A. I was alluding to retreat by sledges. Of 
course it may be done by water any time the water is open. 

Q. Do you think retreating by boats, under the conditions prevailing 
in Arctic regions, practicable? — A. I should not think it practicable. 
The young ice would by that time have prevented a vessel from working 
through, unless under very exceptional circumstances. The ice by that 
time would have been usually four or six inches in thickness. 

Q. Would not the trouble be that the ice could not be depended upon 
to be strong enough to hold sledges, and at the same time might be thick 
enough to cut the boats in the water? — A. Just that, with the additional 
trouble caused by these grinding floes of old ice continually being heaved 
about by the currents and winds. 

By the Court: 

Q. Captain, did you have any conversation with Lieutenant Garlington 
with regard to making a depot at Littleton Island on the way up? — A. I 
think not. 

Q. The subject was never discussed with him? — A. I think I had no 
conversation in regard to the depot at Littleton Island ; my idea having 
been that such a depot should be established on the west coast. I do not 
know that I heard the suggestion by any one that a depot should be 
established at Littleton Island. 

Q. Then, in regard to establishing a depot as he went up, instead of do- 
ing so coming down ? — A. The most which was said on that subject oc- 
curred in conversation between the Chief Signal Officer and myself. I do 
not now recall that I discussed the subject with Lieutenant Garlington, 
but did discuss with him, as I recollect, the question of establishing the 
winter station upon the west coast in order to save the trip across the 
sound. 

Q. That is on the way coming down ? — A. Yes, sir ; that was in ref- 
erence to where the depot should be established in obedience to Lieutenant 
Greely's suggestion. 

Q. Now, captain, it has been given in evidence here in reference to the 
stores that were taken by Lieutenant Greely in 1881, that he had rations 
of meat for his entire force for thirty-six months ; he had rations of bread- 
stuffs for his entire force for thirty-five months : he had rations of beans, 
rice, &c., for his entire force for fifty-five months; rations of coffee and 
tea for fifty-five months, &c. ; besides other extra stores. Now, that being 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 169 

the fact, as given here in evidence, I would like to know why in the orig- 
inal instructions to Lieutenant Garlington this remark should be found :. 

You are aware of the necessity of reaching Lieut. A. W. Greely and his party with 
the expedition of this year. This necessity cannot be overestimated, as Lieutenant 
Greely's supplies will be exhausted during the coming fall, and unless the relief-ship 
can reach him he will be forced, with his party, to retreat southward by land before the 
winter sets in. For these and other reasons which will occur to you no effort must be 
spared to push the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay. 

As I believe you got up the original draught of these instructions, 
can you state why these remarks were put in ? — A. I think so, sir. It' 
was well known that while Lieutenant Greely's original supplies of pro- 
visions had been as stated, still it was known that he had taken from 
those stores to establish caches at several points, and to renew spoiled 
stores at others, and in that way had depleted his stock of provisions to 
some extent. It was also, as I before stated, speaking generally, under- 
stood that he was fully and amply rationed for two years, and that wdiile 
the supply of provisions which he would probably have with him could 
be eked out and made to last for a considerably longer period, he himself, 
when fitting out the expedition, had considered his party to be rationed 
generously for something over two whole years, or generally speaking, for 
two years ; it was also believed that while he might have a superabun- 
dance of certain stores, possibly of all stores for a considerably longer 
period than the fall of this year, still he must, of necessity, have been in 
want of certain things which might have spoiled, been found improperly 
put up, have been lost by accident, or in other ways, so that it was consid- 
ered very necessary and desirable that he should be supplied with fresh 
stores by the expiration of this year. 

Q. And therefore in making up those instructions you were satisfied of 
the urgency, the great urgency, of getting that ship up there during the 
summer and as soon as possible ? — A. I was. 

Q. Was it the intention in putting that in his instructions to impress 
upon Lieutenant Garlington the absolute necessity of his getting up to Lady 
Franklin Bay as speedily as possible ? — A. I do not recollect that the ques- 
tion of his arriving at an early period in the season was considered. It 
was deemed important that the relieving vessel should reach Lieutenant 
Greely during the summer of this year, but so that might be done before 
the close of navigation up there, if navigation is open there at any time, 
I think that was deemed sufficient. Another reason for desiring to 
push the relief party through was the known anticipation of Lieutenant 
Greely and his people that such a party would be sent and get through. 
This was made all the more urgent by reason of the failure of the previous 
year. 

Q. You stated that you had for a year or two made this whole subject 
of Arctic exploration your study, with a view to advising the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer in regard to the best method of getting up a relief expedition, 
and so on. And I notice that the Chief Signal Officer says that every 
possible contingency must be provided for. Do you think that in the in- 
.structions to Lieutenant Garlington every possible contingency was pro- 
vided for? — A. I do not. 

Q. And why were they not? — A. Because of the desire of the Chief 
Signal Officer to adhere to Lieutenant Greely's plan ; because that plan 



170 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

does not, in the light of the facts that now appear, anticipate just what 
occurred. 

Q. Do you not think that one of the probable contingencies of such 
an expedition is that the vessel will be crnshed by the ice and be lost? — 
A. No, sir ; I w *ld not say it was probable, but always possible. 

Q. Has it not very frequently occurred in polar expeditions? — A. In 
those waters, I think not. 

Q. What happened to the steamer Neptune the year before ? — A. A 
bad pinch in the ice, from which she was presently relieved and came 
away without injury. 

Q. Was there not another contingency that the vessel might be caught 
in the ice and kept there for a winter or two ? Was not that a prob- 
able contingency ? — A. No, sir ; not a probable contingency. It was of 
course possible, but the currents and the movement of the ice render get- 
ting out of those waters in the fall of the year very much more easy 
than going up into them. 

Q. Then do I understand you to think that in going into those waters 
there is only possible danger, not probable danger ? A. There is always 
probable danger. 

Q. And ought not probable danger then, or possible danger, be provided 
for as far as possible ? — A. Undoubtedly. 

Q. WsiS it so provided against in these instructions ? — A. These instruc- 
tions were to Lieutenant Garlington, who commanded a relief party. It was 
-not expected that he was familiar with marine matters, and particularly 
with Arctic navigation. It was the purpose and intent to employ not 
only a vessel, but a crew and master familiar with those waters ; and with 
the contingencies which would naturally be expected to arise, and neces- 
sarily and properly, to such a master, with his experience, would be rele- 
gated all those things connected with the safety of the ship, as well as her 
conduct in attempting to get through the ice. 

Q. In the instructions that were given to Lieutenant Garlington there 
were two points considered in that respect. One was that he should go 
np to Lady Franklin Bay. That if he did not get up there he must re- 
turn and cache provisions at two points. Therefore, the only contingency 
was that there would be ice that he could not get through and he would 
have to return, just as happened the previous year. He had instructions, 
therefore, what to do in that case, but in the dangerous navigation of those 
waters there is a possibility that the vessel would be crushed and sunk, 
just what actually happened, and yet there were no instructions given 
him as to what he should do in such a contingency. That is what I want 
to get your opinion about. — A. No such contingency had evidently been 
foreseen by Lieutenant Greely. 

Q. I am speaking of what is done here. — A. I will come to that ; and 
his plan of relief did not take into account any such contingency. Now, 
the Chief Signal Officer had concluded to follow out the plan of relief 
sketched by Lieutenant Greely, and the contingency does not appear in the 
instructions. In drawing those instructions I may say that I was directed 
by the Chief Signal Officer to adhere strictly to Lieutenant Greely's plan. 
Those instructions did not then nor do they now seem to me to cover all 
that might have been prudently said on the subject. That is my opinion. 

Q. That is what I want to get at, you having made this matter a study. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 171 

Therefore do you not think that in the instructions given to Lieutenant 
Garlington this contingency ought to have been provided against, as to 
whether the ship should be caught in the ice and kept there indefinitely, 
or that it might be sunk, as actually happened? — A. To answer the ques- 
tion involves a criticism upon the manner in which the expedition was con- 
ducted and upon General Hazen's views on the subject. I should prefer 
not to answer it, especially as my opinion on the subject could do no one 
any good. 

Q. It may do the court good ; that is what the court is here for — to find 
out. We do not ask your criticism on General Hazen, but merely your 
opinion from your knowledge of the subject. — A. Very well. The fact, 
then, that as a matter of greater security, and with the recollection that 
ships were often nipped in these waters, and sometimes dangerously, I ad- 
vised that a depot of provision should be left while going up would be an 
answer to the question. 

Q. In your opinion, if that contingency had been taken into considera- 
tion, a cache of provisions should have been made going up ? — A. The 
events as they occurred clearly established that, I think. 

Q. And therefore it would have been the part of wisdom to have done that ? 
I am asking your opinion. — A. If the disaster could have been foreseen, 
it would certainly have been wise to have provided against it. 

Q. Don't you think that your ideas of establishing a depot on the way 
up could have been carried out, and yet the views of Lieutenant Greely 
have been met at the same time, fully and completely ? — A. Except in so 
far as the establishing of this depot was not provided for in his request ot 
August 17, the general plan of relief and the certainty of his relief would 
have been promoted by so doing, I think. 

Q,. But what I mean is this : Lieutenant Greely desired that there 
should be two deposits of provisions made at certain points that he des- 
ignated. Why should not your idea of making a deposit on the way up 
have been carried out and the two deposits that he required have been 
made also ? — A. That would have been practicable. 

Q,. And there were provisions enough on the ship to have made them ? — 
A. My plan would have been to have landed the house for Manter quar- 
ters, and the bulk of the stores of all kinds, so that in case of disaster to 
the ship those who were rescued should have not only food but shelter. I 
would also have landed such coal as could have been spared from the ship. 

Q. So you think there would have been no difficulty in carrying out 
the ideas of Lieutenant Greely, and also have made these further deposits 
on the way up ? — A. I did so think at the time. 

Q. As it was determined under the law that the party of Lieutenant 
Greely should be withdrawn from Lady Franklin Bay in case the ship- 
got up there, what was the necessity of carrying all the provisions to 
Lady Franklin Bay, as they evidently intended to do, if they were not 
needed there ? — A. In the event of Lieutenant Greely being brought 
away by the relief vessel, the landing of the stores would have involved 
their being taken out of the ship's hold, landed at considerable expense of 
labor and time, and then after Lieutenant Greely and his party had been 
received on board, the recovery of those stores by the same painful pro- 
cess, all of which it would be desirable to avoid if possible, and as long^ 



172 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

as the stores were in the relieving vessel, safe there, they might as well 
remain as to be landed and reloaded arain. 

Q. All of this is under the supposition that the vessel would not go to 
the bottom? — A. Certainly. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Do you remember, captain, that about November 1st, 1882, the 
Secretary of War returned the copy of the plan of the relief expedition of 
next year with the remark that it seemed to be much more desirable to 
endeavor to procure in the Navy the persons that are needed in this re- 
lief, and requesting the views of the Chief Signal Officer on that sub- 
ject ■? — A. I remember such a paper. 

Q. Do you remember the discussion or consultation held, and the reply 
of the Chief Signal Officer that it would not be better to do so; that the ex- 
pedition should be entirely under the control of the Signal Service ? — A. I 
heard no discussion upon that subject. Lieutenant Greely's plan for his 
relief contemplated the detail of men from the Army, and I always under- 
stood General Hazen favored that scheme. 

Q. You were not called upon for advice upon that subject from your 
reading? — A. I was not. 

Q. From the history of Arctic explorations, what would be your opin- 
ion as to the propriety of the conduct of an expedition by water being 
under direction of the Navy Department rather than the War Depart- 
ment, or in charge of the Army? — A. It seems to me that involves a 
•criticism of even those greater than the Chief Signal Officer. 

The Recorder. I will not press the question then. 

The Court. You might give your opinion. 

A. Am I to answer ? Then my opinion would be that the conditions of 
ice travel and navigation through ice and over ice is so much different in 
every respect from what either landsmen or sailor experiences in ordinary 
life that neither would have much advantage of the other. I think suc- 
cess would be gained more by a resolute endeavor and a properly equipped 
party, without reference to whether they belonged to the one service or the 
other. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Still, most Arctic expeditions have been intrusted by all civilized 
•countries to the navy, have they not? — A. I think the majority of them. 

By the Court : 

Q. I will ask the question that if in the captain's opinion the ship and 
•crew should be under martial law, such law as would prevail in case of a 
ship regularly in the service of the Navy ? 

The Witness. You are speaking of the crew ? 

The Court. More especially of the crew itself. — A. Undoubtedly the 
restraint of discipline, the habits of discipline, are as valuable under the 
trying circumstances likely to be met with there as anywhere, probably 
more so. 

By Mr. Kent : 
Q. Do you remember how many expeditions have entered Smith's 
Sound ? — A. I should be unable to answer the question definitely with- 
out research. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 173 

Q. Can you recall the most prominent, then ? — A. There were several 
English expeditions prior to that of Sir John Franklin, which I think at 
one time entered Smith Sound. There was the expedition of Dr. Kane, 
Dr. Hall, and the Hayes expedition. The subsequent expedition of Sir 
George Nares, which was the last English expedition, aiid since that this 
one of Lieutenant Greely. There have been vessels sent for the relief of 
expeditions there. The Tigress expedition and the Pandora, which was 
afterwards the Jeannette, wintered in the neighborhood or just below Lit- 
tleton Island, think. She was there some time at least. 

Q. Can you state now which of these ships actually got into Smith 
Sound? — A. The Alert and Discovery, of the Nares expedition, one of 
which went to Lady Franklin Bay and the other to a point farther up the 
coast. Captain Kane's ship entered Smith Sound. The vessels of all the 
American expeditions have done so. The Pandora was there, and the 
Tigress, of our Navy. Those and the relief vessels connected with the 
Greely expedition of 1882 and 1883 are all that now occur to me, though 
no doubt there have been others. 

Q. Do you know where the expeditions that entered Smith Sound 
made their main depot of supplies ? For instance, take the first Sir George 
Nares expedition. — A. It was the custom of all those expeditions, so 
far as I now recall, to establish small depots of supplies on the passage 
up with a view to their availability when retreating in case of disaster. 
I think all of them had depots of provisions. The caches of food and 
other supplies made by the Nares expedition are numerous at one of the 
Carey Islands, Cape Isabella, Cape Sabine, Littleton Island, and at other 
points on the west coast of Kennedy Channel and Smith Sound. There 
is still remaining quite a supply of provisions which were cached by the 
Hall expedition on the east coast, and which in '75 was reported to be 
in good order ; and certain stores were obtained from it by the Nares 
expedition. 

Q. What was the experience of the ships that entered Smith Sound as 
to their getting out ? — A. During the time ships remained in those waters 
I think none of them escaped being at times in danger. They were gen- 
erally several times pinched by the ice under different conditions. I do 
not remember now of any vessel having been crushed and finally lost there 
except the Proteus. Dr. Kane abandoned his ship, and the Polaris was 
lost. 

Q. How many ships that went north of Cape Sabine ever returned — 
brought out by their crews? — A. That is a matter of history in which I 
would very much prefer to consult the records. 

Q. I thought perhaps you could answer from your knowledge of the 
subject ? — A. I can name a number : the Alert and Discovery, of the 
English expedition ; then the Proteus and Neptune, of the original expe- 
dition, and the relief expedition of 1882. There were several others, but 
I cannot now recall them. 

The court then (at 10 minutes past 2) adjourned until to-morrow at 11 
o'clock a. m. 



174 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 

WavShington, D. C, 
Friday, December 21, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members, and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the previous day read, amended, 
and approved. Whereupon, 

Capt. William H. Clapp, Sixteenth Infantry, was recalled, and his 
examination continued, as follows : 

By the Court : 

Q. Lieutenant Garlington reported for duty the 21st of February, 
1883. How soon thereafter were you relieved from your duties in con- 
nection with the relief expedition? — A. It is a matter of memory, but I 
think about the last of February, a few days after his arrival here. 

Q. You have given in evidence that prior to being relieved, on Lieu- 
tenant Garlington's arrival, you had had conversations with the Chief 
Signal Officer, in which you tried to impress upon him the propriety of 
caching a large store of provisions near Cape Sabine on the way up. 
You also stated that you had had other conversations upon the same 
subject with the Chief Signal Officer subsequent to that, in which 
conversations the Chief Signal Officer disapproved of making any 
change from the request of Lieutenant Greely in that respect. Will you 
tell the court, as near as possible, the date of the last conversation 
with the Chief Signal Officer upon that subject, in which he ex- 
pressed his decision that he would not make any change? — A. I am 
unable to give the date of any of those conversations, and my recollec- 
tion is now that the most which was said upon this subject occurred a 
short time prior to the time of the arrival of Lieutenant Garlington ; 
that after that time any allusion to the subject was merely an allusion. I 
having before learned from the Chief Signal Officer that he proposed 
to adhere to the plan of relief sketched by Lieutenant Greely, I did 
not again suggest or urge it upon the Chief Signal Officer. I do not 
think I urged the propriety of such action at any time, as I did not 
feel free to do so, but mentioned it as desirable. Neither did I do that 
afterwards, and any allusions to the subject were allusions merely, and no 
further eifort on my part to induce its adoption. 

Q. I understand that. What I want to know is, as near as you can fix 
it, the date when you last made an allusion to this subject to the Chief 
Signal Officer. — A. I would be unable even to approximate the date. 

Q. Do you think it as late as May? — A. I could not tell, but I was re- 
lieved of the responsibility of the relief expedition, and these matters were 
turned over to Lieutenant Garlington by direction of the Chief Signal Offi- 
cer, and excepting conferences which I had with him afterwards, especially 
those relating to scientific work, regarding which I was called in on two 
occasions, I think I had no formal, set conversation with him on the sub- 
ject, but he sometimes alluded to the matter and sometimes I did, but these 
conversations, occurring as they did in a fragmentary way and at odd times, 
I have no means of fixing the date when any of them occurred. 

Q,. You went on leave of absence on the 20th of June. That was more 
than two weeks after the orders were given to Lieutenant Garlington, as 
they are of date June 4 ; therefore if you had any conv^ersations they must 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 175 

t 

have been between February 21, when Lieutenant Garlington reported for 
duty at the office, and the 4th of June when the orders were issued ? — A. 
They must have an earlier limit than that. They could not have oc- 
curred subsequent to the time when the Chief Signal Officer went to St. 
John's in connection with the vessel. 

Q. What date was that ? — A. I do not know ; I presume the records will 
show. 

Q. You narrow it down, say, from the 1st o± March up to the 1st of May, 
within those two months ? — A. The impression upon my mind is this : that 
having made this suggestion to the Chief Signal Officer at some date prior 
to the arrival of Lieutenant Garlington, and receiving from him the inti- 
mation that he did not approve it, the matter was not again uppermost in 
my mind, and particularly not as a subject to urge upon his attention, he 
having considered and decided upon it, and that anything said upon the 
subject after that time was merely an allusion in regard to which I am 
unable to give the particulars or the date. 

Q. I understood that was what you stated ; but w4iat I want is to get 
at the date of that allusion as near as you can give it. For instance, 
whether the last time the subject was alluded to, and you got the idea 
that the Chief Signal Officer still opposed any change in the programme — 
whether that took place some time in March, or some time in April, 
or some time in May? — A. I have a general impression that the matter 
may have been alluded to, and probably was, subsequent to the date 
when Lieutenant Garlington relieved me in this matter ; but the allu- 
sion or reference to it was so very fragmentary and incidental that it 
could not by any construction be considered as renewing the subject and 
urging upon the Chief Signal Officer the view which I had formerly 
mentioned to him ; and there is nothing in the character of it or in my 
relations to the subject which enable me now to place any definite limit of 
time within which these conversations occurred. I am only mentioning 
a general impression that some allusion was made, and nothing more 
than an allusion. Perhaps something was said of it at the time I was 
directed to prepare, or when I had prepared, the rough draught for in- 
structions to Lieutenant Garlington. 

Q. When did you prepare that ? — A. Those papers are not here, I think. 
There may be some memorandum by which I could fix the date. (Wit- 
ness looks at the paper offered and read in evidence in Lieutenant Caziarc's 
testimony.) There appears to be no date or suggestion of a date upon this 
memorandum, and my impression now is that it was prepared quite early 
in May. 

Q. Quite early in May ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. That being the case, then the last time any suggestion was made in 
regard to a change of programme respecting the stores for Lieutenant 
Greely must have been made some time in May ? — A. I would not say 
that. I said that possibly, and I will add probably, at the time I was di- 
rected to prepare this paper, or at the time when it was prepared and 
read to the Chief Signal Officer, some allusion to that subject may have 
been made. 

Q. But you are not positive ? — A. I am not positive. It would seem 
reasonable now that such may have been the case, but I cannot speak 
definitely on the subject. 



176 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COUPT OF INQUIRY. 

The Court. The reason I have asked you this is because you testified, 
on page 165 : 

Q. Then you did not make any suggestions after Lieutenant Garlington reported ? — 
A. Yes, sir, I did; but it was not so much my duty, or privilege, |^ perhaps, I might say, 
as prior to that time. 

By the Eecorder : 

Q. On page 169 of your testimony, in answer to a question by the court, 
you state, "Still it was known that he had taken from those stores to es 
tablish caches at several points and to renew spoiled stores at others ; and 
in that way had depleted his stock of provisions to some extent." Now, 
was not the amount used in that way reported by Lieutenant Greely ? — 
A. The amounts were so reported, but having been left at points below 
his present station were not to be considered as available stores at that 
station. 

Q. Was there anything more than a very small amount, such as 225 
bread and meat rations, at Carl Ritter Bay ? Was there any more depos- 
ited by him than that? — A. Only a relatively small amount of provisions, 
as I now recollect, were left by him, but whatever they amounted to it was 
so much from the original stores taken by him. 

Q. Well, he has not reported any thing else except what I have stated ? — 
A. My recollection does not serve me. 

Q. It seems a rather inconsiderable amount, and that is why I wished 
an explanation. — A. It would appear to be ; my impression at the time I 
gave my testimony was that he made two or three very small deposits ot 
stores at points on the west coast. Now that my memory is refreshed, I 
do not think that he did, but in any event the amounts so reported were 
very inconsiderable as compared with the bulk of his stores. 

By General Hazen : 

Q. I wish to ask of Captain Clapp whether he does not remember that 
in our discussion of the depot which he proposed to be established at Cape 
Sabine, it referred rather to the position, whether it should be at Cape Sa- 
bine, or where Mr. Greely preferred, rather than whether it should be 
deposited going up or coming back? — A. I do so remember, that the bur- 
den of the conversation was of that nature, but with the recommendation 
by me at the time that it would perhaps be well to do that on the way 
going up. 

Q. I would be glad if the captain would explain more explicitly to the 
court the attention which he gave, under my direction, to the subject of 
supplies ; that is, to the subject of preparing sledges, tents, and boats, and 
traveling gear generally, that were to be used in the expedition ? — A. 
From what I had been able to learn on the subject of Arctic travel, I was 
impressed with the idea that much of the trouble which had existed in 
former expeditions had arisen from the defective construction of sledges 
used. Travelers over the ice had found the loaded sledges built upon 
any pattern which had been used, even the McClintock sledge, as it is 
called, which was adopted by the later English expedition, were extremely 
liable to break down, and that that arose from the fact of their construc- 
tion, — being frame. No plan had seemed to be reached by which a bet- 
ter mode of construction could be adopted. I talked on the subject with 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 177 

Chief Eugineer Melville, and he drew me a rough sketch of a plan which 
had suggested itself to him while on the Jeannette, and suggested that 
it combined the elements of strength and lightness desirable in a sledge. 
One or two modifications of his plan were suggested by me and approved 
by him. The sledges were constructed upon that plan after a good deal of 
thought and by procuring the very best material wliich the country afforded, 
the iron being specially rolled and made for the purpose. Then there were 
questions regarding the proper tents to be used. The ordinary tent, re- 
quiring to be pitched with poles and pins, could not be substantially set 
up on an ice floe, could not be pegged down or made secure; and tents 
were especially constructed, and of a dark color in order that they might 
have the additional advantage of being seen at a distance on the ice, and 
that they might better shelter such men as slept in them during the day, 
and the implements of all kinds, as well as the boats, were of dark 
color, or painted black in order that they might readily be seen and be 
distinguished. The boats were provided or were to be provided in the 
plan with complete appliances of every kind for repair in case of being 
stove by the ice or of springing a leak. Each one carried a ditty-bag 
containing material such as tallow, copper nails, &c. A proper amount 
of sheet lead was required to be fastened on the inside of the boat in 
order to be available in case of accident. A few tools such as might be 
necessary for the repair of the boat were expected to be taken in each 
boat. It was deemed sufficient that two large whale-boats should be 
provided, and the dingy was made upon a plan furnished and of the dimen- 
sions recommended by Chief Engineer Melville. After these plans were 
submitted to me by him and somewhat talked over, I had conversations 
with Lieutenant Berry, of the Navy, in which I showed him some of the 
plans, and talked to him with regard to them, and the desirability of such 
articles, my idea being to obtain a knowledge of what would be required and 
to have such articles of the best possible construction and quality, and not take 
impediments along of any kind, as in such travel every superfluous pound 
carried is a disadvantage. The sleeping bags for the sledge parties were 
also constructed upon plans which Chief Engineeer Melville gave and which 
were the result of his experience during several sledge expeditions whilst 
the Jeannette was in the ice ; also of further experience when her crew was 
making their retreat through the Lena, Delta. An earnest effort was made 
not to omit anything that was necessary or desirable for the safety or effi- 
ciency of the party. 

Q. Please state in regard to the house and the precautions against 
scurvy ? — A. The house was planned in reference to affording shelter for 
the combined parties. It was made only sufficiently large for that purpose, 
but as was thought to secure in its furnishing, heat and the necessary ven- 
tilation, so that the combined parties might be housed with safety, and 
with reference to their health during the Avinter. The air supply allowed 
for each individual who was expected to occupy it was not as large as would 
be given in lower latitude, yet still deemed sufficient. I had in reference 
to scurvy several conversations with Lieutenant Garlington, and ventured 
to suggest to him the great desirability of enforcing regular habits on the 
part of the men, should he be required to winter in this house, that 
the men would be very much more apt to be contented and healthful 
if their hours and duties were made regular, if they were not per- 
S. Ex. 100 12 



178 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

mitted to lounge around the quarters during the long season ol 
darkness. More particularly with reference to scurvy it had come to my 
knowledge that the crew of the Jeannette were during the whole of their 
long imprisonment entirely free from scurvy, and this was attributed, and 
probably correctly, to the care which was used to obtain absolutely fresh 
water for drinking and cooking purposes. I was informed that Dr. Am- 
bler, the surgeon of the ship, often caused water to be condemned and 
thrown aside because it contained a trace of salt, and that all water which 
was used was subject to severe and critical tests in order to determine 
that it contained absolutely no salt. It was also apparent that crews win- 
tering in these regions on former occasions had been often unaccount- 
ably attacked by scurvy, as was the case in the Nares expedition. The 
crews of both ships in that case having been badly attacked in the spring 
of '76, and that none of these precautions against salt water were used, 
but the ice was mined near the ship and melted without any proper care 
regarding the matter. I consulted several persons in regard to the matter, 
and had several conversations with Lieutenant Garlington and with the sur- 
geon who accompanied the expedition, in which I set forth these views and 
which were concurred in by them. I mentioned the subject also to the Chief 
Signal Officer, and was by him directed to speak about the matter to those 
gentlemen. 

Q, I will now ask if the orders pertaining to the preparation of the ex- 
pedition were not studied and considered in the most careful manner in 
every respect, as you have already delineated in these few respects? — A, I 
have never thought otherwise, and should have been willing and glad to 
have risked my life in those waters on the outfit as directed to be made, 
and as I supposed was furnished. 

Q. Were you not regularly called into ray office for consultation during 
all this time? — A. Very often. 

Q. Did it occur to you that any of these matters which were so impor- 
tant were neglected or failed to receive that careful consideration which 
they seemed to demand? — A. I know of nothing which was neglected or 
which did not receive the most careful consideration both by yourself and 
those who were working under your direction. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Do you know whether' those provisions for the safety of the boats 
were carried out ; that the boats were actually furnished and equipped as 
you described? — A. I am unable to state that. I only know the original 
plans provided for them ; and I was informed by the proper officers of the 
Navy Department that those articles had been ordered. 

Q. The boats being furnished by the Navy Department for the expe- 
dition ? — A. Yes, sir ; for the expedition. 

Q. How many boats were to be furnished? — A, Three, two whale boats 
and the 12-foot dingy. 

Q,. Were any directions given, any plans adopted, for putting up the 
house in such a form as to be readily portable — I mean for carrying the 
house? — A. It was understood that the house, the material of the house, 
should be provided in St. John, and that in any and all possible ways the 
material should be cut and fitted so that it would go together when the 
occasion arose in the least possible time and with the least trouble. No 
arrangements for its removal after its being once erected were considered. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 17^ 

Q. I mean in reference to the packing. — A. No, sir ; it was under- 
stood that the parts and pieces of the house would be fitted and numbered 
in readiness, but just where they were to be stored, in what order, was not 
mentioned, so far as I am aware, in the instructions or in conversation. 

Q. No discussion as to how the house should be carried or stored so as 
to be readily got at in case of wreck? — A. That would depend upon the 
ship's cargo and her stowing capacity. 

Q,. I will ask you in further illustration of your testimony if you rec- 
ognize this as a letter addressed by you to the Chief Signal Officer, a copy 
of which was furnished by you to the War Department [handing witness 
a paper]? — A. I wrote a letter at that time, of which this appears to be a 
copy. 

Q. Is it a copy that you yourself made or had made, verified by your 
signature? — A. Yes, sir; it was verified and compared by me. 

The Recorder. I will oifer this letter in evidence and request that the 
official copy furnished by the Adjutant-General be attached to this day's pro- 
ceedings, marked Exhibit I. 

And the court so ordered. 

The Witness, I desire to state that in that paper where it is written 
Lieutenant Barry it refers to Lieut, Robert M. Berry, who commanded the 
Rogers, and who subsequently made an extended sledge tour, or more 
than one through Northern Siberia. 

By the Recorder : 

Q, I will ask you to look at this letter addressed to the recorder of this 
court and state if it is one you wrote at its date and from the place of its 
date ? — A, I recognize this letter, which was written by me on the date 
appearing upon it. 

The Recorder. I ask that this should be attached to this day's pro- 
ceedings, marked Exhibit K, 

The court so ordered. 

The court desires the witness, to submit the letter of the Chief Signal 
Officer, which he received, and to which the paper submitted is a reply, if 
he is able to find it among his papers. 

By the Recorder : 
Q, Is there anything in these letters you desire to qualify upon the 
record ? — A, So far as they contain statements of facts, there is not, while 
they are not such letters as I had supposed would appear in print — con- 
tain matters which are not relative to this inquiry, 

John Moriarty was then duly sworn, and testified as follows : 
By the Recorder : 

Question. State what position you occupy, if any, in the Signal Serv- 
ice. — Answer. I am a private, Signal Corps, on duty as clerk in the 
office. 

Q,. How long have you been so? — A, Since February the 1st, last. 

Q, You were on duty there in June last, were you ? — A, Yes, sir, 

Q, Look at this paper I now show you [being the rough notes referred 
to in Lieutenant Caziarc's testimony of the Memorandum No, 4, inclosure 
to Lieutenant Garlington's instructions] and state if you ever saw it be- 



180 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

fore. — A. I have not seen that paper before, sir. I have seen it in an- 
other paper, but not that paper. 

Q. Explain what you mean by that ; you say you have seen this ? — A. 
I have seen its sense, and have copied it from another paper. 

Q. Well, when and where? — A. So far as my recollection goes, I was 
on duty on Sunday — I think it was about the 3d of June — and I copied 
a paper of which I think that is part of it or the whole of it. I do not 
know. I know the paper that I copied on that date contained the mat- 
ter that is on that paper. 

Q. At whose direction did you copy it? — A. Under Sergeant Beale of 
the Signal Corps. 

Q,. What duty was he on ? — A. He is chief clerk of that division. 

Q. Whose division? — A. Lieutenant Caziarc's division. 

Q. And how do you fix in your mind that it was on the 3d of June ? — 
A. It was the only Sunday I was ever on duty under Sergeant Beale in 
the office. 

Q. How do you remember it was Sunday ? — A. Because there are men 
of our division detailed every Sunday for opening the mail, and I recol- 
lect there was a great deal of work, unusual work, on that Sunday that 
I did not expect, and I was sent for others to assist in getting out orders, 
instructions for the Arctic expedition. 

Q. It was the only Sunday you were ever on duty? — A. With Sergeant 
Beale ; he is Lieutenant Beale now. 

Q. That seems to fix the day of the week. How do you fix the day of 
the month ? — A. I fix it in this way in my mind : I think it was the Sun- 
day that preceded the departure of the expedition. 

Q. The departure from where? — A. From Washington. 

Q. What was the date of the departure, if you remember it ? — A. I do 
not know, sir, other than I know it occurred in the month of June. 

Q,. You know the departure of the expedition occurred then? — A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. How many copies of that paper did you make? — A. I made one on 
that Sunday. 

Q. What did you do with it? — A. I handed it, with the original, to 
Sergeant Beale. 

Q. At what time in the day? — A. In the afternoon; I do not know 
the exact hour. 

Q. Had you had your dinner ? — A. I didn't have any dinner on that 
day. 

Q. Did you make any other copies at any other time?— A. No, sir; I 
don't think I ever did. 

Q. Have you referred to the roster of the office to see what day it was ? — 
A. I have not. 

Q,. Will the roster show ? — A . The roster will show. 

The Recorder. Please step over and refer to it. 

[Lieutenant Caziarc, who was present, stated that he would send for the 
paper.] 

Q. Now, on that day did you copy any other papers relating to the Arctic 
expedition ? — A. I do not recollect, sir. 

Q. Do you remember what else you were doing that day ? — A. I was 
assisting in getting out printed orders and instructions. 



PEGCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 181 

Q. Do you remember doing any other copying? — A. No, sir ; I do not 
recollect doing any other copying on that day. 

Q. Then you don't think you saw any paper of similar tenor to this at 
any other time ? — A. I have no recollection of ever seeing any at any 
other time but that. 

Q. Nor of copying any other paper like it ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Now, look at this paper, furnished from the Signal Office, and signed 
by Lieutenant Caziarc, and headed " Office Report for week ending Satur- 
day, June 9, 1883, Correspondence and Record Division," and state what 
you find there bearing upon this question? — A. I find that Sergeant Beale 
and Private Moriarty were on duty Sunday, June 3, from 9 a. m. to 4.30 
p. m. ; Privates Bain and Jones were on duty Sunday, June 3, from 3 p. m. 
to 4.30 p. m. That is all on the roster bearing on that question. 

The court then (it being 2 o'clock) adjourned until to-morrow at 11 
o'clock a. m . 



LCOpy.J 



Camp at Pineey, neak Foet Davis, Texas, 

December 1, 1883. 

Sik: I have the honor to inclose herewith copy of a letter of this date to the Chief 
Signal Officer of the Army, which letter is in reply to a request from him (covering a 
printed copy of his letter ol' November 22, ult. , to the j vidge-advocate of court of inquiry) 
that I will furnish a sworn verification of his statements made in that letter regarding 
the care and judgment used in selecting and providing supplies and stores for the Proteus 
relief expedition. I cannot but feel that I am in danger of unmerited official censure as, 
in common with those in any way connected with the expedition, I am, through the press, 
receiving public censure for my alleged responsibility therein. 

I earnestly request that this letter and inclosure may be brought to the attention of 
the honorable Secretary of War, who I doubt not will take any action appearing neces- 
sary or proper in the premises. 

I remain, general, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Captain Sixteenth Infantry. 

The Adjutant-Genkeal of the Aemy, Washington, D. C. 

[Inclosure. ] 

Camp at Pineey, neae Foet Davis, Texas, 

December 1, 1883. 

Geneeal: Your letter of the 23d November, with slip inclosed, is just read, having 
been received to-day. I have given to the subject considerable thought, in view of such 
detached portions of the testimony as have reached me, and the newspaper comments 
thereon. The few papers I see are indeed my only information regarding the object for 
which the court was called, or the testimony adduced. It appears from this source of 
information that the court's duty is to determine upon whom the responsibility for the 
failure of the expedition of this year is to rest. This involves an inquiry into the acts 
and responsibility therefor of every one in your office in any way connected with the 
plans for the Proteus expedition. Next to yourself, and up to the arrival of Lieutenant 
Garlington, I was most responsible, made so by the position in which you had placed 
me. I am published to the country in the sworn evidence, and in your letter to the 
court, as having been in charge of the "Arctic Division " from December, 1881, to July 
1883, and so in the event of an adverse finding by the court will be certain to come in 
for censure of an official character, as I most certainly am doing, and will continue to 
do, together with others, in the Signal Office, from the newspapers and the public. 

Now, this is in every way unfair to me. I am stationed in a log camp, twenty miles 
ftom Fort Davis and the nearest post-office, and 2, 000 miles from Washington, and am being 
investigated without a chance of being heard in defense or explanation. It is true that 



182 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

from December, 1881, to June 20, 1883, 1 was in charge of the "Arctic Division" of the 
Signal Office, but the statement needs qualification : with regard to the relief expedi- 
tion of 1882 I had little to do in any way beyond making requisitions on the several 
staff departments for such stores as Lieutenant Greely had asked. I was not consulted 
as to the men who were to go, or the line of conduct to be followed by the person in charge. 
Except that I obtained the stores requested, inspected them, and saw them and the men 
on board the Cromwell steamer m New York, I did nothing. Everything else was taken 
out of my hands. The expedition of this year was something different. I had officially 
asked of you to be sent, and for a time had hopes of going. I, however, never received 
any reply, either written or verbal, to my request. But not on this account did I do less 
to make the expedition a success, and to provide it with everything necessary to its com- 
plete outfit. You did direct me to obtain all of the information possible on this subject, 
and I did so, bringing the information and suggestions obtained to your notice. These, 
with but few exceptions, you approved. One of these exceptions was regarding the pro- 
curement of snow-shoes, disapproved upon my recommendation and later procured upon 
Lieutenant Garlington's. Another, that the depot of stores and the house for winter 
quarters should be established at Cape Sabine and another, that they should be landed on the 
passage up. These last you emphatically disapproved, as they involved departures from 
Lieutenant Greely's plan. Regarding the supplies and stores selected for the last ex- 
pedition, I will say that the plans for them were made after a very thorough study of 
the conditions to be encountered and the object to be attained. 

In reaching conclusions, the published works and reports of Captains Kane, Hall, Hays, 
Markham, Sir George Nares, and others, were read and studied, and frequent inter- 
views obtained with Chief Engineer Melville, Lieutenant Barry, and Seaman Ninder- 
man, of the Navy, all of whom were largely experienced in the nature and conditions 
of Arctic life and travel. I had also, since his return from those waters, many long 
conversations on the subject with Capt. Clements Markham, E. N., and in these ways 
had obtained as good a knowledge of the subject as was possible for one who had not 
actually been there. At the time of Lieutenant Garlington's assignment to duty in 
Washington the plans for most of the stores and supplies had been perfected and approved 
and measures taken to obtain them, at Avhich time the entire conduct of all matters re- 
lating to that expedition was taken from me and given to Lieutenant Garlington. I 
was directed to turn over to him all papers and memoranda on the subject, which I did 
on the day the order was issued. Of the various plans submitted hy me, and approved 
by you, I was suffered to see none of them carried out under my own supervision except 
the construction of the sledges and tents. I saw and inspected these, and saw one of the 
sleeping-bags, but saving these I do not of my own knowledge know anything of the 
stores obtained or sent for the relief expedition of fliis year, my responsibility for these mat- 
ters and all matters pertaining to the expedition having entirely ceased when I, by your 
order, transferred them to Lietitenant Garlington. I thought this an injustice to me, 
which was a small matter, and likely to impair the efficiency of the expedition, which 
was a large one. 

I spoke of this last view of the case to Lieutenant Caziarc in such language that his ac- 
count of the matter to Lieutenant Garlington caused that officer to feel aggrieved towards 
me personally. 

I had, as you well knoM% nothing to do at any time with the personnel of the expedition, 
except only the surgeon ; was not in the least consulted in regard to the ship sent, her 
officers or crew, or the persons who were employed as ice-masters, sealers, &c. My fur- 
ther connection with the matter was to draft by your direction the order to Lieutenant 
Garlington, taking care to follow in every particular the letter of instructions of Lieuten- 
ant Greely. This you particularly insisted upon. I am therefore compelled to except 
to so much of your letter to the court as makes me responsible, even as an adviser of 
yourself, for anything whatever relating to the expedition after the date Lieutenant Gar- 
lington relieved me, or for the character of the vessel selected, her crew, or condition of 
fitness. I know nothing of any stores or supplies sent, excepting the ice-sledges and 
tents, and the sample sleeping-bag-which I saw and suppose to have been taken. In the 
matter of the recommendations I had the honor to make, I am convinced they were ju- 
dicious, and comprehended all that was needed, having been so pronounced by Chief En- 
gineer Melville. They covered necessary and ample food, suitable clothing, boats, with 
equipment therefor, sledging-tents, ice-chisels, and paddles, sledges for ice travel, sleeping- 
bags, alcohol-stoves and utensils, and other articles of minor importance; but I have, as 
I before stated, no knowledge of how these plans were carried out. I protest therefore 
that I should in no event be censured or held in any degree responsible for the failure 
which will probably prove so lamentable, and which is at present the object of inquiry 
by the court. 

From my location here, and without having at command any letters or records relat- 
ing to this subject, I am unable to make the sworn statement you request, but furnish 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 183 

the foregoing as covering the points in the case which now occur to me. In view of the 
possible conclusion to be reached by the court, and in justice to myself, I have forwarded 
a copy of this letter to the Adjutant-General of the Army. 

I have the honor to be, general, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Captain Sixteenth Infantry. 
General "W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer. 

A true copy of the original. 

W. H. CLAPP, 

Captain Sixteenth Infantry. 

[First indorsement.] 

Wae Department, Adjutant-Genekal's Office, 

Washington, D. C, December 31, 1883. 
Official copy respectfully referred to Brig. G^n. S. V.Ben6t, president court of inquiry, &c. 
By order of the Secretary of War. 

R. C. DRUM, Adjutant-General. 



Camp Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry. 
Pinery, near Fort Davis, Texas, November 27, 1883. 

SiK : Having seen in the prints some accounts of the testimony given, in which I am 
mentioned as having made the original draft of instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, I 
feel that in justice to myself and to the inquiry being made I should place the facts be- 
fore you for such use as may seem proper. There was at the Signal Office from some 
time in the latter part of 1881 up to the date of my being relieved from duty at that 
office, June 30, 1883, what was known as the "Arctic division," of which I was in charge. 
To this division were referred all matters relating to the stations at Lady Franklin Bay, 
at Point Barrow, Alaska, and the questions arising in regard to the relief expeditions of 
1882 and 1883, up to the date of Lieutenant Garlington reporting for duty, were (under 
the supervision and orders of the Chief Signal Officer) settled by me. Subsequent to the 
failure of the expedition of 1882, and while that for 1883 was being prepared for, I had 
numerous conversations with the Chief Signal Officer regarding it. In one of these con- 
versations, and prior to Lieutenant Garlington joining, I made to the Chief Signal 
Officer two recommendations. One, that the depot of supplies and winter station 
should be made at Cape Sabine, or higher, on the west coast, and second, that this 
should be done as the relief vessel went up. 

I remember urging this, in view of the severe "nip" sustained by the Neptune in 
those waters in 1882, and the possibility of disaster from similar cause to the expedi- 
tion then in contemplation. Both these suggestions involved departures from Lieutenant 
Greely's plan, but, as I considered, not serious ones, and only in the direction of greater 
security. 

It was evident that Lieutenant Greely in the event of having to retreat could only do 
so along the west coast of Smith Sound, and that the proposed change of location for the 
supplies and winter station would save him and his party the troublesome ice between 
Cape Sabine and Littleton Island, and could not in any event increase his danger. The 
Chief Signal Officer heard me patiently, and then informed me that he would not consider 
or approve any departure from Lieutenant Greely's instructions as contained in his letter. 
He repeated this with emphasis. When, therefore, I was directed to prepare a ' ' rough ' ' 
of instructions for Lieutenant Garlington these instructions were followed, and the paper 
put in evidence was the result. 

I had conversations with Lieutenant G. after his arrival, particularly with reference to 
the location of the station, and remember stating to him (in which he agreed vrith me) that 
the station should be on the west coast. I do not remember having spoken with him on 
the subject of landing supplies on the way up, though I may have done so. We did 
discuss the danger to the ship from ice, and with this in mind I recommended that the 
men reporting to him should be practiced in rowing and managing the whale-boats and 
in signaling ; both of which recommendations were carried out. We also s]X)ke of stow- 
ing the stores in the relief vessel, and of having supplies in the whale-boats during the 
passage up to be ready in case of disaster. Regarding the outiit for the expedition, it 
was, I think, most complete, and embraced everything needful. 



184 PROCEEDINGS OP PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 

The kind and character of the boats, their equipment, the sledges for ice travel, the 
tents, ice-chisels, foot gear, and other less important matters were decided on after sev- 
eral consultations which I had with Chief Engineer Mel'ville, Lieutenant Barry, and 
Seaman Ninderman, of the Navy, and after much anxious thought and study my recom- 
mendations regarding all these matters were approved by the Chief Signal Officer and 
carried out, or at least were in process of being carried out when, on Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's arrival, I was relieved from further direction of them. The inquiry now being 
made is, I believe, with regard to the Chief Signal Officer and his subordinates in so far 
as they were connected with this expedition, and I therefore request of the court to be 
heard in person or by deposition, in the event of there being any testimony directly or 
indirectly making me responsible for the errors committed. I had requested to be sent 
in command of the last expedition and selected stores, outfit, &c., in view of possibly 
being sent. I therefore neglected nothing which seemed necessary for the safety of the 
party to go and the accomplishment of the purpose in view. 

With the request that you will bring this letter to the attention of the court, I have 
the honor to remain, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Captain Sixteenth Infantry. 

Maj. Heney Goodfellow, 

J. A. Court of Inquiry, Washington, D C. 



Washington, D, C, 
Saturday, December 22, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjourn raent. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the previous day were read, 
amended, and approved ; whereupon Capt. William H. Clapp was re- 
called, and his examination continued as follows : 

By the Recordee : 

Q. Have you made search, as the court requested, for the letter ot 
General Hazen to which your reply is in evidence? — A. I have made 
such search, but without avail. I have not been able to find the letter. 

Q. In reply to a question by General Hazen, when you said that every- 
thing possible was done and considered in the office, did you or did you 
not refer to the outfit, the supplies of material furnished the expedition, or 
were you testifying then as to the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington? 
Before answering the question refer to your testimony on page 178. — A. 
I refer to everything connected with the expedition, as I do not for a 
moment suppose that General Hazen's decision to adhere to Lieutenant 
Greely's plan of operations had not been well considered by him before 
making it. I presume he considered that subject as much as any other. 

Q. Have you any distinct recollection of any conversation with Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc, or of any at which he was present, before the instructions 
were finally given to Lieutenant Garlington in reference to the advisability 
of landing stores on the voyage up northward? — A. Just about the time, 
and r think immediately subsequent to the occasion when I expressed 
these views to the Chief Signal Officer, I think I had a conversation with 
Lieutenant Caziarc in which I stated to him what I had recommended to 
the Chief Signal Officer, he not having been present at that interview. I 
am not able to state definitely that at that time I referred to the subject of 
landing stores on the passage up, but know I did mention to him the rec- 
ommendation that the winter quarters should be at or above Cape Sabine, 
rather than in the vicinity of Littleton Island. His reply to me was : " I 
don't agree with you." 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 185 

Q. I observe on page 165, in answer to the question, "Was the matter 
of disaster fully considered ; was it fully considered how the expedition 
under the command of Lieutenant Garlington should provide for the pos- 
sible wreck of the ship?" you said, "From what happened subsequently I 
should think it was not fully considered." Again, on page 169, the 
court asks, "Do you think that in the instructions to Lieutenant Garling- 
ton every possible contingency was provided for?" and you answer, " I do 
not," and, upon being asked why they were not, you say. " Because of the 
desire of the Chief Signal Officer to adhere to Lieutenant Greely's plan; 
because that plan does not, in the light of the facts that now appear, antici- 
pate just w^hat occurred." How do you reconcile this with your answer 
that everything was fully considered? — A. It appears to me that a mat- 
ter might be fully considered, and not be correctly considered ; in other 
words, that what was deemed a due consideration of any subject might be 
given to it at the time it was being considered, and in view of future 
events it might be found that the determinations then made were not war- 
ranted, were not the best that could have been arrived at; and I think 
that was in my mind, or something like that, when I made those answers- 
to which you refer. 

Q. I am asking from the point of view you had then, and you have an- 
swered the question in regard to the possible danger of the crushing of the 
ship, that all possible dangers should undoubtedly have been c(»nsidered. 
Now, do you think the possible dangers to the Proteus, in the light of the 
experiences previous to that time, of the perils of Arctic exploration, were 
fully considered, or do you think that danger was fully considered ? — A. I 
think it was fully considered, but, witlx reference to what happened, not 
accurately considered. 

Q. I am asking in view of what was known to the whole civilized 
world, or all those who took the trouble to inquire in reference to the his- 
tory of Arctic explorations, whether, as appears from those instructions 
themselves, there had been any consideration of w^hat ought to have been 
done in case of the wreck of the ship, and what was necessary to provide 
against disaster to Lieutenant Greely's party in case of the wreck and total 
loss of the ship and cargo ? — A. It was in view of such contingency that 
I made my recommendation to the Chief Signal Officer that the stores 
should be deposited on the upward voyage. The impression left upon niy 
mind was that he considered those chances, and did not deem the danger 
of disaster to the ship sufficient to warrant a deviation from Lieutenant 
Greely's plan, and thus occasion a possible delay to the vessel. 

Q. What knowledge had you that he had fully considered and investi- 
gated the subject beyond his mere reply that he would not consent to 
it ? — A. I think I could hardly say that 1 had knowledge of such consid- 
eration on his part, but presumed it from his reply and the decision he 
arrived at and what I knew of his determination to adhere to Lieutenant 
Greely's plan of relief thoroughly. 

Q. Lieutenant Greely's plan of relief contemplated the making of two 
deposits of provisions in Smith Sound, and the establishment of a station 
in the event of the vessel not being able to reach Lady Franklin Bay at 
Life Boat Cove. You proposed not to vary that plan, but simply to adopt 
an additional precaution for his safety. General Hazen, as you testified, 
at the very first suggestion of that to him, declined to entertain the propo- 



186 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

sitiou because it was not in harmony with Lieutenant Greely's plan. Now, 
how can you believe that he ever considered the matter when everything 
that Lieutenant Greely asked for was to be done, and something additional 
was to be done that in no manner conflicted with Lieutenant Greely's own 
request ? — A. I apprehend that my suggestion to the Chief Signal Officer 
involved two quite important departures from Lieutenant Greely's plan ; 
one to establish a depot on the west coast instead of the east coast of Smith 
Sound, and that should be prior to the vessel entering the ice-pack and 
getting in any serious danger. Lieutenant Greely provided for the estab- 
lishment of such depot only after the ship should be found unable to go 
through the ice ; and these variations from his original plan were material 
ones, although as I think, and have testified, they were only deviations 
in the direction of greater safety. 

Q,. Did your plan contemplate that after making that depot of pro- 
visions, and attempting to reach Lady Franklin Bay and failing to reach 
it, the expedition should not also establish a station at Life Boat Cove ? — 
A. I would have abandoned all thought of wintering at Life Boat Cove, 
for the reason that the winter station could be quite as well established and 
maintained upon the west coast, and that if such station was established it 
would be desirable to shorten, by every means possible, the weary miles of 
travel between Lieutenant Greely and that point. 

Q. Then you hold that would have substantially complied with Lieu- 
tenant Greely's wishes ; if the station was to be established on his route and 
nearer to him than he had asked for it, nearer Lady Franklin Bay than 
he had suggested, where was the material departure? — A. None whatever, 
except in the direction of greater security. 

Q. That being so apparent, so manifest, how could it have been fully 
considered and rejected ? — A. It is extremely manifest to-day when the 
fate of the expedition is known ; it was not so manifest then. 

Q. I will ask, in the light of what was known of the dangers of Arc- 
tic travel, the possibility of the ships being crushed there, the fact that 
many ships have been crushed — in view of all that, what reason could there 
have been found against such a departure from Lieutenant Greely's plan 
in the direction of greater safety, and how could the matter have been fully 
considered and an adverse conclusion reached? — A. It might have oc- 
curred that necessary delay caused by unloading the stores making the sup- 
ply depot on the way up might have prevented the vessel from taking ad- 
vantage of the favorable leads going through Lady Franklin Bay. It 
might have been possible that the bringing away of Lieutenant Greely and 
his men by the vessel from his station would have been defeated by that 
sort of proceeding, simply because of the necessary delay. That was an 
element to be considered. 

Q. Could it be expected that there would be any material advantage of 
one period of time over another, within a few weeks or days, in navigating 
those waters ? — A. I so understand ; that it is a question of chance or 
luck ; that sometimes, on rare occasions, those waters are found open, and 
then again, on other occasions, when there would seem to be quite as much 
reason to expect open water, the ice is fouud to be impassable ; that the 
condition of the ice depends more on the tides and winds than upon the 
temperature of the previous winter and the accumulation of ice. 

Q,. Could not that have been counterbalanced by departure a few days 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 187 

sooner, in order to avoid the delay of about a week necessary, at the utmost, 
to make such depot ? — A. The departure at an earlier date could not have 
been expected to result any better, as the time the Proteus reached Smith 
Sound is as early as navigation has ever been practicable there. 

By the Court : 

Q. The Proteus was crushed the 23d of July ? — A. Yes, sir. 
By the Recorder : 

Q. Is there any reason for supposing, the Proteus having reached 
Littleton Island about the 20th or 21st of July on her way up, that if she 
had started five days earlier from St. John's that she would not have ar- 
rived there five days earlier and had time to make the depot either at 
Life Boat Cove or Cape Sabine and still have had the same period of time 
in which her chances of entering the ice and getting through would have 
been as good? — A. I understand the passage of the Proteus through Mel- 
ville Bay to have been an exceptionally quick one, with less trouble than 
usual from the ice. Had she attempted it any earlier, or even at a later 
date, these favorable conditions might not have existed. She might 
have met with disaster in the waters of Melville Bay before reaching 
Smith Sound. In regard to those things it would be chiefly a matter of 
conjecture. 

Q. I am not asking in the light of the history of the expedition, I am 
asking merely in the light of the history of Arctic explorations generally, 
would not her chances have been just as good if she had started earlier 
from St. John's ; I believe you have already testified that no urgency of get- 
ting to Lady Franklin Bay at a very early time was contemplated at the 
office. — A. No attempt was made to fix the date of her arrival there, only 
so that the relief should be had this last summer. It would seem that this 
supposition you have mentioned might have been properly made and enter- 
tained, but to answer the question definitely would involve an opinion re- 
garding navigation beyond that which I have, and of the conditions of the 
ice there, of which I know nothing except at second hand. I am not an 
Arctic navigator. 

Q. Now, in reference to the advisability of such an expedition being in 
charge of one or the other branch of the Government, you answered yes- 
terday that you thought that under the peculiar conditions of the Arctic 
regions one branch of the service was as available as the other for such 
purposes. Don't you think, so far as the taking of a ship up there 
and the navigation by boats if it became necessary, that men of the Navy 
would have greatly the advantage ; that while sailors can walk the ice as 
well as soldiers, they can also navigate boats and sail ships, which sol- 
diers cannot ordinarily do? — A. Some of the most successful Arctic expe- 
ditions have, I believe, been under the charge of landsmen ; and when it 
comes to hauling heavy loads upon sledges over ice, or sometimes em- 
barking those loads in boats in order to cross bits of open water, I im- 
agine that the knowledge of marine matters which a sailor has would aid 
im very little. 

Q,. Possibly, but could not he pull as hard as a soldier ? — A. As hard, 
rnd no harder. 

Q. But then when it comes to getting into the boats, packing a cargo, 
trimming a boat, sailing a boat, or rowing a boat, would not the sailor be 
in his element and the soldier not ? — A. Undoubtedly the sailor would be 



188 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

on his element, but the soldier or the landsman would very easily and very 
readily acquire all the nautical knowledge that would be necessary; and in 
so far as navigation of those waters is concerned, the precautions to be 
taken against danger, and the methods of extricating a ship from danger, I 
would sooner trust the experience of competent whalers and sealers, who 
have years of experience in such work, than either persons of the Army or 
Navy who had not had such an experience. In the conduct of this expe- 
dition it was expected that in those matters the experience and practical 
knowledge of the master and crew of the Proteus would be available^ 
not only as means of preventing danger, but of extricating the people from 
danger. 

Q. Sealers and whalers are sailors ? — A. They become so. 

Q. Professional seamen ? — A, As a rule they are. 

Q. Don't you suppose they are always so before they are considered 
competent to go sealing or pilot a ship through the sea? — A. Certainly, 
before they are competent to pilot a ship through the seas; but many of 
those men go on chance voyages from Newfoundland and other points, and 
there is a time when their experience as sailors begins, and crews of green 
men are not infrequently shipped, as I am informed. 

Q. Could not the Navy command the assistance of that special talent 
among pilots and sealing men, as well as any other branch of the Govern- 
ment? — A. Perhaps quite as well, but I do not see how in any way better,. 
as it would be simply the selection of such workmen, and their engagement 
to do the work, which might be done by any branch of the Government 
or by an individual. 

Q. It might be better to have it done under professional seamen instea 
of landsmen ? — A. Such might be the case. 

Q,. In regard to those Arctic expeditions that were commanded success- 
fully by men who had not been bred to the sea, were not the crews and 
officers used composed of seamen ? — A. To a considerable extent I believe 
such to have been the case. 

By the Court : 

Q. The passage of the Proteus on the original Greely expedition from 
St. John's to Lady Franklin Bay was a rather remarkable passage from the 
fact they found few obstructions and got up there without much difficulty ? 
— A. Quite so. 

Q. Do you think that Lieutenant Greely after his ap'ival there was a 
better judge of what should be done for his relief (except the fact that he 
should know that there were caches of provisions at certain points) than 
those who had studied the matter here and had never been up there; that 
is, did his trip to Lady Franklin Bay give him such large experience that 
his views ought not to be changed ? — A. His trip up there afforded him 
an experience simply with regard to the conditions as he found them, and 
not as they probably would be found by somebody else at another time ; 
therefore beyond a knowedge of the headlands, the location of caches, and a 
few matters of that kind, the mere fact that he had sailed up Smith Sound 
and Kennedy Channel in a season of open water would not at all acquaint 
him with the condition of the ice there in seasons when the channels 
were closed. 

Q. Then his views and opinions in regard to what might be done for his 
relief would be of no special value beyond the placing of provisions at 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 189 

certain points where he would expect to find them, should he have to re- 
turn? — A. His experience would be valuable, but would not be entitled 
to paramount consideration, except in so far as it comprehended the various 
conditions. I remember to have had with General Hazen, when speaking 
of this matter, some conversation like this : I said, " Lieutenant Greely's 
view of what he wanted August 17, 1881, is not at all Lieutenant Greely's 
view now of what he wants." I said, "Just as the views of men who vol- 
unteered early in the war were very much changed, and they came to believe 
that certain things they wanted originally were not needed at all." I re- 
member that conversation. 

Q. I ask that question because in General Hazen's testhuony, on page 
26, he speaks in this way : that Lieutenant Greely's letter " was of that 
nature and character, written, as it was, after he had arrived there, know- 
ing all the facts as no other man in the world could know them, that I felt 
that I was excluded from giving Lieutenant Garlington any orders that 
would in any manner conflict with his directions." That is the reason I ask 
the question whether the experience that he had in going up to Lady Frank- 
lin Bay through practically an open sea would have given him such knowl- 
edge of the wants of those regions as to make his requirements a law unto 
those who had charge of the aifairs here ? — A. Manifestly not ; and it was 
with that in view, and the belief that he had not experienced all the conditions 
which might be encountered, that I suggested to the Chief Signal Officer 
certain changes from his proposed line of action. 

There being no other witness present (1.45 o'clock), the court adjourned 
until Wednesday the 26th of December, 11 a. m. 



WashinCtTON, D. C., 
Wednesday, December 26, 1883 — 11 a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the last meeting was read, 
amended, and approved. 

Whereupon, 

General William B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, resumed the witness 
stand, and made the following statements: 

In the report made of my testimony, on page 189, it seems that what I 
intended by it is not quite understood. It was not that Lieutenant Greely, 
being there, having gone up through Smith Sound, knew more about what 
would be best to be done than any other man in the world, but it was this, 
that Lieutenant Greely had studied the subject as no other man had done, 
he going there and risking his life and the lives of his men there, and his 
men depending on the plan which he had made. Then, the weight that 
was given to his plan was not that it was a superior plan to any other, 
-but it was a preconcerted plan made by Lieutenant Greely ; it was a pre- 
concerted plan which could not be departed from without possibly mis- 
leading him. No plan for a rescue of that sort could be efficient and ef- 
fective unless it is prearranged between the rescuers and the rescued. To 
make departures from such a preconcerted plan would render it not only 
useless, but it would mislead the parties to be rescued. 

As to the reference made in Captain Clapp's testimony to there being 



190 PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

no special time to arrive at Lady Franklin Bay, I wish to say that every 
effort was made and every possible movement attended to to cause the ex- 
pedition to arrive at Littleton Island the very first moment of the season 
that it was possible to get into Smith Sound. That of course did not 
contemplate any specific time, but it was to take the chances, the' first 
opportunities that offered of getting in there. 

In regard to adhering to Mr. Greely's plan of placing the depot on th 
east side of the channel and not upon the west side, that decision was 
based upon other reasons than what seemed to appear. Littleton Island, 
Life Boat Cove, is a point more certainly reached in the spring or the summer 
than Cape Sabine. Besides this, it is a point very favorable to animal life. 
It is a point that has been made a winter's rendezvous, as Sir George Nares 
and others have said, of the natives who go to that region for a long per- 
iod. In that respect it has very many advantages as a winter camp over 
the west side, which was pronounced and was understood also by Mr. 
Greely himself to be much more barren, and almost destitute of animal 
life, and for that reason not desirable for that purpose. That was very 
largely the controlling reason with him, and with me it was that, and 
also that Mr. Greely had selected that point himself. Captain Clapp made 
the point that Cape Sabine was directly on their line of retreat. Although 
it is on their general line of retreat, it was not quite clear to me but 
that they might have departed from that line so as to have passed it 
for some reason ; not looking for and expecting it, would have passed such 
a point, and would have found themselves thirty or forty miles away 
from it in an exhausted condition, and not been able to return to it. 

Captain Clapp also tells me he remembers a conversation which really 
was held in regard to the landing at Littleton Island. It was perhaps as 
controlling with me as anything else, when these matters were discussed, 
the delay that might result in first landing at Littleton Island and losing 
the time which might have been availed of in going north, and in case 
the ship arrived there when there was a clear atmosphere, if it would 
not by all means be better to take advantage of that rather than to run the 
risk of delaying and having the time taken up in landing stores. That 
was the reason — one other reason why it was not thought best to order that 
this landing should be made. 

In regard to Captain Clapp's statement in one of his letters that no reply, 
either verbal or in writing, had been made to his application to go north, it 
probably had escaped his memory ; but to show that there was no want of 
harmony in all these discussions, Captain Clapp was at the time verbally 
informed in as delicate a way as possible that I was not prepared to send 
him out, which I thought was all that was necessary at the time. 

It also appears in the testimony in regard to the rations, that I have 
said Lieutenant Greely had about five years' rations. That was arrived 
at upon the computation of rations which was handed in, which you re- 
member was found to be erroneous and was returned. When the calcu- 
lations were corrected it was found that the meat and bread rations, the 
main rations, instead of being for four years, were for about three years, 
I think it proper that that should be corrected. 

I will say in regard to Captain Clapp's work while he had charge of 
the Arctic division that he was always zealous, and he afforded me very 
ready and very prompt and earnest attention in that work all the way 
through. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 191 

To show more fully, up to the very last, the interest and the earnestness 
which I had in this work, I would like to submit in testimony a series of 
telegrams which I sent to Washington from Washington Territory when 
the loss of the Proteus was first known here. They do not seem to ap- 
pear in the exhibits as they have been printed. If permitted, I will read 
them. 

General Hazen then read the following telegrams : 

New Tacoma, W. Ter., September 15, 1883. 
Captain Mills: 
Was nothing left in caches for Greely anywhere? 

W. B. HAZEN. 

New Tacoma, W. T., September 15, 1883. 
To Captain Mills, Washington: 

It may be necessary to send men with money and authority to Upernavik to organize 
and send sledging parties with food north to meet Greely, who is now probably at 
Littleton Island on his way south. See the Secretary about it, and if the President can 
authorize the money Congress will approve. It will have to be done by telegraph to 
St. John's, Malloy sending man and money by small steamer. It will cost but a few 
thousand dollars. Give the subject careful study. ' 

HAZEN. 

Poet Townsend, W. T., September 17, 1883. 
Captain Mills, Signal Officer, Washington, D. C. : 

It is very important to get a capable man with money as high up in Greenland as pos- 
sible to send sledge parties with native food and clothing under pay and bounties to meet 
Greely. See the Secretary and do it if possible by telegraph to Malloy. 

HAZEN. 

Port Angeles, "W. T., September 19, 1883. 
Captain Mills, Signal Officer, Washington, D. C. : 

Get orders from Danish legation for men going to Greenland for all Danish authorities 
to give all possible assistance it can. Telegraph it to St. John's. 

HAZEN. 

Neah Bay, W. T., September 20, 1883. 
Mills, Signal Officer, Washington, D. C: 

If it is too early for sledges, parties must start up in boats. 

HAZEN. 

New Tacoma, W. T., September 22, 1883. 
Mills, Signal Officer, Washington, D. C: 

Has question been asked St. John, can vessel reach at or near Upernavik? Greely 
will retreat south. 

HAZEN. 

On receipt of that I received a telegram from Washington that the Sec- 
retary of the Navy and the Secretary of War had determined to do that. 
I then wrote this dispatch, and before it was sent I received another dis- 
patch that the Secretary of the Navy had determined not to do it, but I 
will read this as part of the series : 

Tacoma, W. T., September 22, 1883. 
Mills, Signal Officer, Washington, D. C: 

Do all in your power to prevent delay of preparation. What I want done requires no 
preparation. Time is more valuable than all else. 

HAZEN. 



192 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Of course, I meant by the term preparation that they should select such 
stores as could be obtained in a day or a very short time. 

There being no other witness present, the court then (at 1 2 o'clock) 
closed the doors for the purpose of deliberation. At 3 o'clock p. m. the 
doors were reopened, and the court adjourned until 11 a. m. to-morrow. 

Washington, D. C, 
Thursday, December 27, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the previous day was read, 
amended, and approved. 

Capt. Richard Pike sworn. 
By the Recorder : 

Question. Where do you reside? — Answer. St. John's, Newfoundland. 

Q. What is your occupation ? — A. Master mariner. 

Q. What vessel did you last command ? — A. The Proteus. 

Q. How long had you commanded her? — A. Nine years. 

Q. State how you were employed while in command of that vessel. — A. 
Sealing, chiefly. 

Q. Did you command her in 1881 ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. When Lieutenant Greely and party were on board of her on the 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay ? — A. I did. 

Q. To your knowledge what repairs were done to the ship after that? — 
A. She was docked three times after that. 

Q. Where was she docked ? — A. At Sidney, Cape Breton. 

Q. A¥as anything done to her machinery? — A. Nothing that I know 
of, of any consequence ; the boiler has been all new stayed since then. 

Q. Did you regard her at the time you sailed with Lieutenant Gar- 
lington and his party in a thoroughly seaworthy condition ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q,. What boats had she of her own? — A. She had four, three of which 
were saved and one lost. 

Q,. Describe them. — A. One was a long boat called a life-boat, a jolly- 
boat, and two sealing boats. 

Q. How many men would they accommodate altogether? — A. They 
could accommodate twenty-two. There were three boats that took the 
twenty-two men. 

Q,. What was the condition of those boats when you sailed? — A. All 
the boats were good enough. 

Q. How old were the boats? — A. The same age as the ship. 

Q,. How old was that? — A. I think she was ten years old, 

Q. Had they been kept in repair from time to time ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you think they were stanch, safe boats? — A. Well, they must 
have been, to stand what they did stand. 

Q. State to the court what nautical education and experience you had 
prior to that time. — A. I had thirty-five years ; I have been twenty- 
seven years master of a ship ; I have been to the Brazils, the Mediter- 
ranean, United States, Germany, and been all around England. 

Q. For that service you are required to have some license or commission, 
are you not? — A. A certificate from the board of trade. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 193 

Q. From what board of trade did you receive this ? — A. From the 
Newfoundland Board of Trade, which is connected with the English 
Board of Trade ; it is all the same. 

Q. Say what experience you had in northern waters among the ice prior 
to sailing the last time in the Proteus. — A. So far as ice, I have been at 
it over thirty years. I was only fourteen years of age when 1 went into 
it at first. 

Q,. What character of ice were you accustomed to encounter ? — A. Just 
the general run of ice we would meet on the coast of Newfoundland, and 
sealing ; sometimes heavy and sometimes light. 

Q. Did you supervise or superintend the loading of the Proteus ? — A. 
Partly. 

Q. Who else attended to it? — A. The chief mate. Had to break out 
stores after Lieutenant Garlington arrived — nearly all of them. He was 
looking after some things he could not find. 

Q. Do you know where the arms and ammunition were stored ? — A. I 
do not know. 

Q. You didn't see them stored ? — A. No, sir. 

Q,. Do you know who attended to stowing them ? — A. The same as all 
the rest ; nobody could tell which was the box wanted ; just as we took them 
up on board. No person looking after it from the proprietors of the ex- 
pedition. 

Q. To identify them ? — A. No, sir. We broke out nearly all of them ; 
Lieutenant Garlington was looking for some things all one day. There 
were some things he could not find. 

Q. The packages were not marked ? — A. Not that we knew ; we had 
nothing to sho,^^ ; they were mixed. 

Q,. They were not marked with a description of the contents ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Captain, what was the character of the crew and ofiicers under your 
command on the Proteus ? — A. The crew were pretty good men ; of 
course you cannot expect to get the same sort of men always, but the men 
did their work very well. 

Q. When did you ship these men ; how long had they been sealing ? — 
A. Oh, I shipped them nearly a month before I left. I made a trip after 
I shipped them before sailing on the expedition. 

Q,. Had you a chance to get a good choice of men, or was the season un- 
favorable ? — A. The season was unfavorable to get a regular picked crew 
of men, but I got a very good crew. 

Q. Had you known an3^ of them before ? — A. Half of them had been 
a-sealing before. 

Q. With you ? — A. Yes, sir, with me. 

Q,. And were the other half sealers ? — A. Sealers all their life, so far as 
I know. 

Q. The half you did not know personally ? — A. They were all men 
used to going to the seal fisheries. 

Q. Is there any custom or law that you know of, applying to ships sail- 
ing from Newfoundland, by which the men can regard themselves as dis- 
charged from their duty of obedience, upon the wreck of the ship? — A. 
Well, as a general rule, I believe the rule is that when the ship is lost the 
men's wages are supposed to cease. That is, I believe, the law. But these 
S. Ex. 100 13 



194 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

meu obeyed their orders ; but of course sometimes in a case like that, when 
there is excitement, you can see one running here and another there. 

Q,. Do you know of any flagrant disobedience among the crew? — A. 
No, sir. 

Q,. Do you know of any defiance of their officers? — A. No, sir; heard 
nothing. 

Q. Nothing of the kind ? — A. Nothing of the sort. 

Q. Now, on that voyage was there or was there not harmony between 
you and Lieutenant Garlington as to what ought to be done? — A. Me and 
Lieutenant Garlington had not a word while I was on board the ship. 

Q,. There was no disagreement? — A. None whatever, 

Q. As to the course the ship was to take? — A. None whatever, sir. 

Q. Was the ship judiciously managed in the ice ? — A. So far as I know,, 
she was. 

Q. Was she subjected to unnecessary peril ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. After the ship was lost, was there any disagreement between you and 
Lieutenant Garlington as to what ought to b^ done, as to the course to be 
pursued ? — A. No, sir. After the ship was lost, me and Lieutenant Gar- 
lington and Lieutenant Colwell got together to see which would be the 
way to ]:»roceed. Of course we made up our minds to get all the provisions 
we could ashore 

Q. What became of the mails for Lieutenant Greely ? — A. I know 
nothing about that. 

Q. Do you know where they were stowed ? — A. I do not know. I da 
not know anvthino; about them. I did not have them in charo-e. 

Q,. You didn't see any of them saved, did you ? — A. No, sir. 

By General Hazen : 

Q. I would like to ask the captain if during all this time he has been 
in the employ of the Stewarts, or at least how long he has been in their 
employ. — A. Ten years. • 

Q. How long as captain of the Proteus ? — A. Nine years. 

Q. I would like to ask him also if he made any disparaging remark to 
the effect that his crew were a set of rascals. — A. No, sir ; none. The 
only remark I made to Lieutenant Garlington, I said I had not as good a 
crew as I had the year before, on the whole. 

Q,. Did you consider it a good crew ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. In all respects did they perform their duties while on the ship? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Had you any occasion at any time to find any fault with any of 
them in the performance of their duties ? — A. None whatever. They some- 
times would not be smart and jump up as quick as I wanted, and I might 
sing out to them about it. 

Q. What sort of a trip did you make, did you consider, up to the time 
the ship foundered ? — A. A very quick one. 

Q. Was it a good trip in every way ? — A. Yes, sir ; I considered it 
was. 

Q. How far up on the coast of Greenland have you been accustomed 
to go in sealing? — A. I did not go there sealing at all. 

Q,. How far did you go — what is the range of sealing ? — A. The range 
is from St. John's as far as 52 north ; that is about the general range. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 195 

Q. How did you consider the equipment of the Proteus ? — A. Very 
good, sir. I do not think there was anything wanting. 

Q. How old was she when she was refitted? — A. It was usual to be 
newly refitted every year. 

Q,. Her equipment was efficient and good ? — A. Efficient and good ; 
nothing wanting that I know of. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. For how long was your ship provisioned for your own crew ? — A. 
Eighteen months. 

Q,. I would like to ask you in reference to a matter with which you 
are probably familiar, professionally. How long would it take to land 
at a convenient point, say on Littleton Island for instance, fifty barrels 
of stores"? — A. I could not exactly say; it would depend on how the 
weather was, a great deal. 

Q. Suppose you had a good lee ? — A. I suppose you would land it in 
four hours. 

Q. You think you would land fifty barrels in four hours? — A. I 
think so. 

Q,. With the force you had on board ? — A. Yes sir. 

Q. A hundred barrels in about eight hours ? — A. More or less ; I 
could not exactly say. Of course it might take time to get the boats out 
and the things with them. 

Q. Suppose you could have hauled up close to shore and hoisted the 
barrels right out, how long would tliat have taken you ? 

The Witness. On the shore ? « 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. Do it in an hour, I suppose. 

Q,. Fifty barrels in an hour ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What is the character of the shore at I^ittleton Island ? Could you 
approach close at places? — A. Yes, sir; we went at one time within six 
cables' length. 

Q,. Tell the court how much that is in feet ? — A. Ninety fatlioms — 
from sixty to ninety. 

Q. B[ow is it in Pandora Harbor? How near can you go to the beach 
there ? 

The Witness. With a ship ? 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. There is a place you can get right close — go within a few cables' 
length. There is a place within a cable's length. 

Q. How is it at Life Boat Cove ?^ — A. I never was there, 

Q. Do you think everything was saved that could have been saved when 
the wreck took place? — A. Yes, sir; there was more saved than was got 
ashore. 

Q. Was everything got ashore that could have been got ashore ? — A. 
No, sir ; there were some things on the floe that floated away. 

Q. Was everything done that could be done? — A. I think there were 
some things that could have been got. When we got there first some things 
were left on a floe, and the floe wheeled outside the island, and after we landed 
the floe v;heeled again, and I said to Lieutenant Gariingtou that we could 
save them ; and he says "No, I can not let my boats go any more." So then 
two of mv ]")ont? went and brought a load of stuff. Somo of the men wont 



196 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

in my boats; Sergeant Kenney was one, and I think Murphy was another 
man. 

Q,. What reason, if any, did Lieutenant Garlington assign for declining 
the use of his boats for that purpose ? — A. I do not know, sir. 

Q. Was the ice dangerous to the boats? — A. Well, of course it was. 
They had to get through some ice — through a little. 
% Q,. What amount of stores that were not saved could have been saved 
by the greatest diligence? — A. We could have got another boat-load or 
two, at any rate, if we had had the boats. 

Q. Do you know what amount of provisions were cached on Cape 
Sabine? — A. No, sir; I do not know; there was a very little. I know 
there was a large cache of clothing made there, but provisions there was 
not. 

Q. You don't know how much ? — A. No, sir ; I know there was a bar- 
rel of molasses left there, and some tea, two or three bags of bread — but 
the bread would be of no use, it would be wet — and some clothing was left 
there that beiooged to the ship, which was saved and covered with a sail 
belonging to the ship. 

Q. Well weighted down with stones ? — A. It was covered over. There 
was some clothing, some that belonged to myself, I know ; some I did not 
bring with me, I hadn't room for it. 

Q. I understood you to say that your crew were all sealers? — A. They 
were all men used to going to the sea and going to the seal fisheries, all but 
one of them ; that was the assistant steward. 

Q,. And you said that at least half of them were personally known to 
you? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And had served with you before? — A. Yes, sir; had served with 
me before. 

Q,. What was your idea as to the probability of the Yantic reaching 
Littleton Island? — A. I was of the opinion that the Yantic would reach 
Littleton Island by the way the ice trimmed in Melville Bay. 

Q. Did you or not deem it advisable to go to Littleton Island and wait 
for the Yantic? — A. It would be advisable, I thought. It was my 
opinion the Yantic would get there all the time. 

Q. Did you advise that the boat should go there ? 

The Witness. Where? 

The Recorder. To Littleton Island from the wreck ? 

A. Pandora Harbor was where we proposed to 'go. 

Q. Did you advise the boats to go to Pandora Harbor ? — A. Yes, sir. 
It was intended that we should wait, and I spoke to Lieutenant Colwell 
about the course — that we would have time enough to wait for a few days 
and get some provisions over from Cape Sabine. The next day we went 
on the boats and came south. 

Q. Did you assent to that as advisable? — A. There is no use of one 
boat staying and the rest going. It was my belief that the Yantic would 
get there. 

Q. Did you express that belief to Lieutenant Garlington ? — A. I think 
I said to Lieutenant Garlington that we ought to stop two or three days, 
something like that. 

Q. At Pandora Harbor ? — A. Yes, sir ; at Pandora Harboi;. 

Q. Wore }'ou well provided with logs ? — A. Yes, sir. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 197 

Q. How many had you ? — A. We had a common log, and a patent log 
which we lost. 

By the Court : 

Q,. I would like to ask how long the Proteus would have been delayed 
on her upward voyage if she had stopped to land supplies of provisions at 
Littleton Island and Cape Sabine to the extent of three tons at each 
place. — A. I expect it would take three or four days — three days. 

Q. She would have been delayed how long to each ton ? — A. I could 
not tell exactly how long. 

Q. I simply want your estimate of how long it would take at each place 
to land a ton additional of other stores than provisions. — A. Perhaps it 
would take two or three hours to land a ton some places ; perhaps she 
might have some trouble in getting there, on account of the ice foot. 

Q. I am speaking of Littleton Island, and Cape Sabine only. — A. There 
is no ice foot there. 

By the Recorder: 

Q. You anchored at Littleton Island? — A. Not this time; I did two 
years ago. 

Q,. When you anchored there two years ago how near were you the 
shore ? — A. Not more than forty yards. 

Q. And how near could you have got to the shore at that point ? — A. 
Could get the stern of the vessel alongside, but then it was right alongside 
a mountain, and you could not land there anywhere. 

Q,. At the time your vessel w'as chartered for this purpose in 1883, was 
there any vessel in the harbor that could have been chartered that was bet- 
ter adapted to the service? — A. No, sir; not one that I know of. 

Q. Was there any person in the harbor or near there who had had more 
ice experience than yourself? — A. No, sir; I do not think so. 

Q. Or more Arctic experience ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you have an interview with Lieutenant Garlington in the pres- 
ence of an agent of the Messrs. Stewart soon after your return ? — A. Yes, 
sir ; we had. 

Q. State briefly what took place at that interview ? — A. Well, Lieu- 
tenant Garlington wished to have an interview, and it was spoken of about 
the time we got into Payer Harbor. We went to Littleton Island and 
did not land there, and after we left there we went along by the island 
dead slow ; and after we passed around the island Lieutenant Garlington 
said " Go ahead ; we won't wait ;" and we went north full speed about an hour 
and a half, maybe two hours ; then we met solid ice in Smith Sound. 
There was no water to be seen at all — not a crack in it. We went over to 
the west side then, and there was a little drain of water running from Capo 
Sabine over toward Cape Albert. So I saw there was no chance, and 
proposed to go into Payer Harbor and watch for a chance to get up, until 
some of the ice came down. I said to Lieutenant Garlington that 
unless some of the ice came down we cannot get up. We are too 
early. So we went into Payer Harbor, and Lieutenant Garlington 
went ashore on the cape, as he said, to examine the cache of pro- 
visions that was left there by the Neptune. We entered Payer Harbor, 
I think, about 5 o'clock, and anchored, and about 7 o'clock Lieuten- 
ant Garlington came on board. I was lying on my bed, and he came 




198 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

to the stateroom door and called me and told me he coidd see open water 

away north towards Cape Hawks. I told him I didn't think tha 

any good, and that I was not ready to go. I wanted to get some 

water and fill my bunkers. I also told him that I was as anxious 

north as he was. He says, " I can see open water, and I want to 

said, "■ You shall have my men to help fill your bunkers." I said/ 

go, and we left there about 7 o'clock in the evening, or half past seven. 

Q. I understand that this interview at St. John's was in referei 
matter you are speaking of, was it? — A. Yes, sir; those are th^ 
that I said before Mr. Syme, before Lieutenant Garlington and Lieuten- 
ant Col well. 

Q. Now, did you hear any complaint by Lieutenant Garlington or Lieu- 
tenant Colwell of the conduct of your men on the way down from the 
wreck ? — A. I heard them speak about it, but I did not see anything 
wrong with the men ; I heard them speak about the men, that they were 
this and they were that. 

Q. Did they make any complaints of depredations committed by your 
men? — A. No, sir; not on the way down ; they did after we left Cape 
Sabine, after the wreck. 

Q. What were those complaints about? — A. About stealing clothes. 

Q,. Did you investigate them? — A. I know when the ship was lost 
Lieutenant Garlington' let each of my men have a buffalo coat, but, as I 
said, they were to give them up when we went on board the Yantic, if we 
got on board of her ; but the day after when we landed Lieutenant Gar- 
lington demanded the coats from them again, but the officers of the ship 
could keep theirs until they got aboard the Yantic or arrived at St. John's. 

Q. Those clothes, were they cached ? — A. No, sir ; they were on the 
floe of ice before we landed at all. 

Q. Were they afterward cached ? — A. I saw the men give them to 
Lieutenant Garlington ; I do not know whether he cached them or not. 

By General Hazen : 

Q. What was the quality of the officers that were with those boats ? — 
A. The officers were ffood enough. Both of them had been officers for 
two or three years in sealing. 

Q. From your knowledge of ships are there any better ships that you 
know of for that pnrpose'than the Newfoundland sealers? — A. I do not 
think there are. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. How did the Proteus compare with other ships? — A. The Pro- 
teus was about as good a ship as there was, something like the Bear and 
the Neptune. 

Q. The Proteus was as. good as any of them? — A. Yes, sir. , 

(4. I believe Lieutenant Greely was very well satisfied with her ? — 
A. Yes, sir ; he was. 

Q. Did he not make some complaint at that time that the machinery 
was too light ? — A. None that I ever heard, sir. 

By the Court : 
Q,. How far north had you ever sailed in your ship prior to taking 
Lieutenant Greely to Lady Franklin Bay? — A. About 55, sir. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 199 

Q. You had come iu contact with some pretty heavy ice, in your ex- 
perience? — A. Yes, sir; I have, very heavy, but the ice on the Lab- 
rador coast is broken up more — not like the Arctic ice at all. 

Q. You had never been b^^fore in Baffin's Bay ? — A. Never before I 
went with Lieutenant Greely. 

Q,. On your way 3'ou found very clear water all the way up? — A. Yes, 
sir ; very little ice, nothing worth speaking of. 

Q. And you made a very remarkable trip up there ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether there is such open water there as far as the 
point to which you went every year ? — A. I could not say. 

Q. How was it on your return trip from Lady Franklin Bay ? — A. We 
found a good deal of ice, coming back. 

Q. You had no trouble getting down? — A. I^o, that ice passed us while 
we were at Discovery Harbor. 

Q. How did you find Smith Sound on your M^ay down? — A. No ice 
in Smith Sound. 

Q, You came down without any difficulty ? — A. Without any difficulty. 

Q. Do you remember how late that was? — A. I think we passed through 
Smith Sound the 29th of August. 

Q. Then your trip coming down did not give you much experience with 
ice ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. And even your trip going up did not give you any great experience 
of that kind? — A. We had to come back somewhere about eighty miles, 
to dodge the ice and let the floes pass, and work our way up. 

Q, During your trip with Lieutenant Greely in 1881 did you get any 
very great experience in regard to ice and its movement in Smith Sound 
at certain periods of time? — A. No, sir; I know nothing about Smith 
Sound; seen none there going up or coming down. 

Q. So that the trip did not give you experience as to the amount of ice 
in Smith Sound? — A. Not in Smith Sound. 

Q. You had no other opportunity of learning anything of that kind? — - 
A. No, sir. 

Q. Just now you testified that when Lieutenant Garlington spoke to you 
about leaving Payer Harbor and going north, that he had seen open water, 
you stated it was rather too early, — A. We were rather too early in the 
season. 

Q. Upon what did you base that opinion? — A. Because I expected 
some ice would be breaking up about that time; it should be breaking up 
and coming down, according to the experience I had the year before. 

Q. After the Proteus was lost, what was the condition of the ice in 
Smith Sound? — A. The ice was croins; dov/n. There were small floes of 
ice when we crossed at Littleton Island from Cape Sabine, coming down. 

Q. So far as you know from the experience you got there, do you think 
there would have been any time lost or any opportunities of going up lost 
by waiting a few days? — A. I believe it would have been all the better if 
we had not been so soon ; we would have had a better chance of getting 
up. 

Q. After the ship went down do you remember v/hether your men ever 
disobeyed your orders to do anything? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Did they obey your orders with the same alacrity they did before 



200 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

the disaster ? — A. They obeyed my orders right through ; in the excite- 
ment men would not turn round just as they would at another time. 

Q. You found no difficulty about that ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. They continued obedient after the disaster? — A. Yes, sir; they all 
obeyed my orders. 

Q. Did you think there was any disposition to be mutinous? — A. ^o, 
sir ; none wliatever. 

Q. Did they exhibit any disposition of that sort on their way down to 
St. John's while you were in theT3oats? — A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Had you made an observation of this ice from Payer Harbor? 

The Witness. Before we went in ? 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. From wdiat point had you made the observation ? — A. I saw it from 
the deck ; the officers, when they were in the crow's-nest. 

Q, What did the officer in the crow's-nest say about that ice? — A. Re- 
ported that there was not a drop of water to be seen north. 

Q. Where had Lieutenant Garlington observed it from ? — A. Cap« 
Sabine. 

Q. From the shore ? — A. From the shore. 

Q,. How high is the headland there? — A. It comes down to a low peak — 
perhaps two hundred or three hundred or four hundred feet. 

Q. Were you at any time consulted in reference to landing stores or 
making caches on the way up? — A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you give any advice on that subject ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. You did not regard it within your province at all. — A. I had nothing 
to do with it. 

Q. Did you tender any advice to make arrangements to meet the Yan- 
tic? — A. No, sir. 

Q. You were not consulted upon that point? — A. No, sir. 

By the Court : 
Q. Why were you certain the Yantic would get to Littleton Island ? — 
A. Because I knew by experience. We could get around west of the 
Gary Islands and avoid the ice in that way. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Did you get out of your course in Melville Bay ? — Yes, sir ; we did. 

Q. How did that occur? — A, I would like to know any man that 
could keep a course when sometimes we were going dead slow and some- 
times at full speed, sometimes northeast and sometimes going southwest. 

By Mr. Kent: 

Q. AVhat officer was in the crow's-nest when you left Payer Harbor? — 
A. The second officer, I think. 

Q. Was Lieutenant Col well in the crow's-nest? — A. Not when we leffc 
Payer Harbor. 

Q. When was it he got into the crow's-nest? — A. About 10 o'clock in 
the evening. 

Q. What time did you leave Payer Harbor? — A. About half past 7. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 201 

Q,. I understood you to say that there was never any conflict between 
you and Lieutenant Garlington, or any disagreement of any kind? — A. 
None that I know of. 

Q. Was there any disagreement as to the propriety of going north at 
that time ? — A. None whatever. I would not have went if Lieutenant Gar- 
lington had not spoken as he did to me ; but then of course I would leave 
no stone unturned to do what I thought was right. 

Q. You did not, however, object to going ? — A. Oh, no, I did not object. 

Q. Are you positive that you told Lieutenant Garlington that the water 
that was seen was no good ? — A. The water that was seen Avas no good. 

Q. When was that? — A. Before we went in Payer Harbor. 

Q,. But when you came out of Payer Harbor going north ? — A. There 
was some water there then. 

Q. Nothing of the kind said then, was there ? — A. No, sir. 

By the Pecorder : 

Q. Didn't I understand you to say that you advised against going out 
then ? — A. No, sir; that was in the harbor that I said I did not think it 
was any use — that I wanted to fill the bunkers. 

Q. That was before you started out. When was it that you said Lieu- 
tenant Garlington came aboard from examining the cache? — A. That was 
in Payer Harbor. 

By the Court : 

Q. That was after he had been on the mountain to see ? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. But you thought it was your duty to defer to his wishes ? — A. Yes, 
sir ; that was the way I understood it, and that if we could not 'get ahead 
we would have no difficulty in getting back again. 

By the Court : 
Q. AVould a delay there of as much as a week have been detrimental to 
the object of the expedition ? — A. I think it would not have been ; if she 
had been there a week it would have been all the better. 

By the Recorder: 

Q. Did you express that opinion at the time ? — A. The only thing I 
said to Lieutenant Garlington was that we were here too early. 

Q. Did he ask you what you thought about the advisability of going 
out then? — A. No, sir ; he did not speak to me about going out to sea. 

Q. He did not ask your opinion ? — A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Can you fix with greater definiteness the time and place of the con- 
versation of Lieutenant Garlington when he spoke of the open water and 
you said it was no good ? — A. That was before we went in, I told him in 
ray opinion the water was not much good, but we could go and see when 
we came out. 

Q. That was before you went into Payer Harbor? — A. Yes, sir. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Referring to the time that Lieutenant Garlington came on board 



202 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

from examining tlie cache and requested you to go out? — A. I said I did 
not approve, that I did not think there was much water there, 

Q,. You stated at that time also? — A. Yes, sir; stated at that time also. 

Q. Now what was the strength of your ship's company? — A. There 
were twenty-two, all told. 

Q. And you had provisions for eighteen months ? — A, For eighteen 
months. 

Q. And estimating that Lieutenant Garlington carried provisions for 
fifteen months for forty persons, that being very nearly twice the amount 
of your provisions, suppose half those provisions of Lieutenant Garling- 
ton should have been landed at Littleton Island or Payer Harbor, how 
much less water do you estimate your vessel would have drawn ? — A. Oh, 
it would have drawn 18 inches less water, that is if the house and coals 
and provisions were landed there. 

Q. I do not mean the whole of them, I mean half. — A. Perhaps about 
6 inches as you are talking about provisions, perhaps 6 or 7 inches. 

Q. Would not the chances of escape from a nip have been much better 
then? — A. Yes; because the ship would rise better. 

Q. How much water did you draw as you entered? — A. About 18 feet. 

Q. What would you have drawn with the lightest ballast? — A. About 
14. 

Q. With the lightest ballast?— A. Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. I understood you to say in answer to a question that you said to 
Lieutenant Garlington that you thought you were up there too early. — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q. When did you so state that? — A. Before we went into Payer 
Harbor. 

Q. You had a conversation before you went into Payer Harbor? — A. 
Yes, sir. 

Q,. AVhen did you state that you were as anxious to get north as he was? — 
A. That was in the cabin before we left Payer Harbor. 
. That was in Payer Harbor ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do I understand you to say that your objection to leaving at that 
time was that you wanted to fill your bunkers, and some other things you 
wanted ? — A. Yes, sir ; wanted to fill the bunkers and get fresh water. 
I said I was not ready to go. 

Q. You did not object, then, because you did not wish to proceed ? — 
A. I did not. I did not object to going at all. 

By the Recoedee, : 

Q. You remarked you didn't think the water was good ? — A. Yes, sir. 
By Mr. Kent : 

Q,. When did you make the remark about the water not being good ?— 
A. Before we went in, and I remarked it again to Lieutenant Garlington 
that I did not think there could be a great deal of water there, after Lieu- 
tenant Garlington came on board. 

Q. Do you remember who ^vas present when you had the conversation 
with Lieutenant Garlington before entering Payer Plarbor ? — A. Lieu- 
tenant Col well and Dr. Harri;on. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 203 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Was Lieutenant Garlington in the habit of asking your advice as to 
going into the ice ? — A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Captain, you were the officer responsible for the navigation of the 
ship as her master? — A. Yes, sir; I believe I was. 

Q. Did Lieutenant Garlington ever interfere with j'ou in the discharge 
of your duties at all ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. He had never made any suggestions to you? — A. That was the only 
suggestion ; he saw the open water and wanted to go. 

Q. He had never interfered with you in passing through Melville 
Bay ? — A. No, sir. 

By the Recorder : 

Q,. I also understand he did not ask your advice ; did not say, " Captain, 
do you think we can go into the ice.safely ?" — nothing of that kind at all ? — 
A. No, sir. / 

Q. Simply expressed his wish to go into it? — A. He saw the open water 
and he wanted to go. 

By INIr. Kent : 

Q. How was that request made by Lieutenant Garlington ? Do you 
know the language he used in regard to it? — A. I said, "I am not ready 
to go ; I want to fill up the bunkers ; I want to get fresh water ; " and he 
says t(» me, " I can see open water ; I want to go. You can have my men's 
help in filling your bunkers." 

Q. Didn't he say that he at least wanted to try to get through ? — A. 
That is the remark he made: '' I see open water and I want to go." 

Q. If you had gone out there and found no open water, would there 
have been any difficulty in getting back at that time ; would there have 
been danger or peril if you had found no open water? — A. If we saw 
no open water we would not have been in the ice at all. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. You were not able to get back ? — A. We were trying to get back 
when we lost the ship. 

Q. That was the next evening ? — A. Yes, sir ; the next evening. 

Q. How far had you gotten from Payer Harbor when you lost 
the ship ? — A. I suppose about 10 or 15 miles from Cape Sabine when we 
lost the ship, but we had been further north. We had been nearly in the 
line of Cape Albert. 

Q. Did you bring the ship's log with you? — A. No, sir ; but I had 
my own diary. The ship's log was pretty much melted; could not keep it 
dry. 

Q. Will you leave this diary with me until to-morrow ? — ;A. Yes, sir. 

Q. These entries were all made at the time? — A. From day to day as 
we came along, sir. 

Lieut. John C. Colwell recalled and examined. 

By Mr. Kent : 
Q. You have heard the conversation repeated by Captain Pike as 



204 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

having occurred between himself and Lieutenant Garlington in your 
presence on board the steamer Proteus at Payer Harbor. Will you please 
give to the court your recollection of what occurred at that time, and ex- 
actly what was said by either of the gentlemen? — A. I was in the cabin 
when Lieutenant Garlington came oif from shore and Captain Pike was in 
his room asleep. Lieutenant Garlington knocked on his door and Cap- 
tain Pike put his head out and wanted to know what was wanted. Lieu- 
tenant Garlingtion said " I have seen open leads of water, clear along the 
coast as far as I can see," and said, "1 would like you to get the ship un- 
der way and try it." Captain Pike said '' I would like to lay here awhile 
and fill my bunkers and get some fresh water." Lieutenant Garlington 
said, " You can have my men to help coal ship." The Captain said, '' I am 
as anxious to get north as you are ; we can go out and have a try at it." He 
went on deck and got the ship under way about 8 o'clock and she passed 
out of the harbor. I went in the crow's-nest as she was passing out and re- 
mained there until she was stopped that night about half-past 10 o'clock 
or 11 o'clock. 

Q. Did you hear Captain Pike at that time sa}' anything to Lieutenant 
Garlington about not going because the water was no good water in his 
opinion, or anything to that effect? Was that his reason for not going? — 
A. No. The only reason for not going was that he \vas not ready to go, 
that he wanted to fill his bunkers, and he said something about water. 
That is my impression ; he wanted to fill up ; that was his objection, and 
the coal, 

Q. Did you hear him say anything to Lieutenant Garlington that they 
were too early, that by waiting later it might be better? — A. I did not. 

By the Court : 
Q. He might have said that without you having heard it ? — A. He 
might have said that some other time ; I never heard him make any such 
remark. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Did you ever hear him make any such remark at any time on that 
vessel? — A. Never. 

Q. You heard Captain Pike testify in reference to his application to 
Lieutenant Garlington, requesting Lieutenant Garlington to send one of 
his boats to get some stores that were on the ice-floe. Do you remember 
what occurred in respect to that request, and state what occurred, what 
the facts were, and why it was not done? — A. I was there when Captain 
Pike said his men would like to have our whale-boat to go for some of 
the things on the ice. I told Lieutenant Garlington not to let them 
have it. 

Q. What was your reason for that? — A. I had just gotten back with 
my boat, which was the last one that had been out. Captain Pike was on 
that floe with a party of his men. When one of his boats got within about 
two hundred yards of the vessel Captain Pike left the party I was with' 
working, shifting stores, and clambered over the intervening ice, got into that 
boat with his son and I think one other man, and shoved otfj and I saw 
them pull for shore, leaving some of the crew of his boat on the ice. Those 
men stood on the ice cursing him for deserting them. They all seemed 
very much demoralized. They did a good deal of talking about re- 
maining on the ice, and not trying to go to the shore, and several of 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 205 

them suggesting, as they had my whale-boat, they would keep that boat 
and keep on down the west coast. It was probably half an hour before I 
could get those men to work with me, I called them together, and told 
them I ^YOuld take them on shore, would unload the boat partly and then 
would take them all on shore. They finally decided to do it, to go with 
me, and I partly unloaded my boat and took those eighteen men all told 
and got on shore, but from the time I heard this, their talk of not keeping 
with the party, not trying to find the Yantic, but to take one of our boats 
and what stores they could gather and keep on down the west side, I did not 
think it advisable to let a boat go oif with a party of the Proteus crew. For 
that reason I advised Lieutenant Garlington not to let our boats go. The 
captain said he would let two of his boats go back — that< is, for those stores 
that I had thrown out of my boat, and what other things that were on the 
ice. A number of our men went along. I think there were six, and as 
many of the Proteus crew, making a mixed crew. They loaded those two 
boats up and came back. At the same time I heard threats from the men 
against Captain Pike. 

By the Court : 
Q. What men? — A. Those men that were left on the ice by him. When 
thev got on shore I heard one of them state he would never sret back to St. 
John's. That those men he left on the ice will never let him go back there. 
Knowing that mutinous spirit, I did not think it advisable to let any of 
the crew have any of our boats, as our own safety depended on them. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Can you state what provisions w ere finally left on the floe, how many 
or can you approximate it ? — A. There were two barrels of assorted canned 
goods which were packed to be left on the way up. There was a quantity 
of scattered tin goods, no Mdiole packages, some scattered clothing, a few 
blankets and some buffalo overcoats and some lumber, A great deal of 
this stuff was brought away, principally the clothing, by the two boats that 
went back with the mixed crew, but exactly what they left on the ice I do 
not know. What was left on the ice was what I threw out of my own 
boat to land the men, because I could not find room for them, loaded as my 
boat was. Also a dingy loaded full, which I intended to tow in, and a 
sledge load which I had hauled across the ice to load my boat. The greater 
part of them was brought away by the two boats of the Proteus with the 
mixed crews. There were also some instruments left on the ice. 

Q. You have made a study, I suppose, of the history of navigation in 
Smith Sound. Can you state succinctly what expeditions have entered 
Smith Sound, and how many passed north of Cape Sabine? — A. Dr. Kane's 
expedition was the first one, and got as far as Renssalaer Bay and laid 
there two years and was abandoned. Dr. Hayes got as far as Foulke Fiord 
with a schooner, wintered there, and returned next year ; and during the 
next spring he sledged to Smith Sound, crossed over and sledged as far as 
Lady Franklin Bay. Captain Nares' expedition — two ships — steamed to 
Smith Sound, but before Captain Nares' was the Polaris expedition. It 
steamed up Smith Sound up to the head of liobeson Channel, wintered 
opposite to Lady Franklin Bay, was drifted south during the next 
year, and was finally abandoned at Life Boat Cove, back of Littleton 
Island. Captain Nares' expedition steamed up Smith Sound, two ships. 



206 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

one wintering in Discovery Harbor; the other kept on up Eobeson 
Channel, wintered near Cape Joseph Henry, and both ships succeeded in 
getting out next year and returned to England. Those are the only expe- 
ditious that have been up Smith Sound. 

By the Court : 
Q. And the Proteus ? — A. The Proteus, of course, on the first expedi- 
tion with Lieutenant Greely, in 1881. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Captain Inglefield got as far as Cape Alexander ? — A. He did not 
go farther with the ship than Cape Alexander. 

By the Court: 

Q. Which of these ships, or how many, succeeded in getting out ? — A, 
Captain Nares' two ships went up and came back. The Polaris got back 
as far as Littleton Island, was abandoned there, destroyed there, and the 
Proteus went up with Lieutenant Greely and returned safely. 

Q,. The Kane ship? — A. It was abandoned at Rensselaer Harbor. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Did you mention the Neptune ? — A. The Neptune, I should have 
said ; she did get iuto the entrance of Smith Sound, or what is marked 
Smith Sound. It is marked on some of the British admiralty charts as 
Smith Channel, and the wider space above as Smith Sound. The Neptune 
got just above Cape Sabine. 

By Mr. Kent :^ 

Q. Can you recall how long it took Sir George Nares to pass from 
Cape Sabine to Discovery Harbor? — A. It was either twenty-three or 
twenty-five days. 

Q. How long did it take him to get out when he started? — A. About 
the same. 

Q. You had frequent conversations with Captain Pike yourself, did 
you not, just before you went into Payer Harbor? — A. I do not remem- 
ber anything in particular ; when we were at dinner — when we got along- 
side the solid ice — there may have been something said. I remember 
nothing in particular. 

Q. In the general conversation you had with him at or about that time, 
how did he impress you as to his opinion as to getting to Discovery Har- 
bor ; how did he speak about it? — A. When we were at Littleton Island 
and on the morning of the day we got to Payer Harbor, there was no ice 
in sight from the mast-head. Captain Pike was evidently in very gocd 
spirits, and spoke of having Lieutenant Greely the next day; -said we 
would have him back here in a few days. I don^t remember what else 
he said on the subject. 

By the Court : 

Q. That was at Littleton Island? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Couid you then see Cape Sabine? — A. Yes, sir; no ice in sight. 

Q. What headlands could you see from Littleton Island from the mast- 
head ? — A. Could see Cape Isabella, Cape Sabine, Cape Alexander, Bache 
Island, which includes ( 'ape Albert and Victoria Headland, and Cape 
Hawkes, and land beyond Cape Hawkes. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 207 

Q. There was uo ice in sight ? — A. No ice in sight from the mast-hea 
at 9 o'clock in the morning. 

Q. Of course you could not see ice as far north as Cape Hawkes ? — A. 
No, sir; we sighted ice a little after 11 o'clock, 

Q. AVhat would be the horizon from the elevation of the masthead, 
what distance? — A, We could see a dark body a very great distance, but 
ice cannot be seen very far. 

Q. What would be the horizon for that elevation, about what distance? 
— A. I cannot say exactly. 

Q. That would be the surface of the water at the furthest point w^hich 
you could see? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. At St. John's or whilst you were on board the Proteus did you take 
notes and make any inventory of the equipment, take notes of the equip- 
ment of the Proteus ? — A. While on board of her I took a description of 
the vessel and also my opinion of her equipment, a detailed description of 
the vessel and the boats. 

Q. You have that, have you ? — A. I have. 

Q. And if desired you can produce it? — A. I can read what I have 
there ; but it is in my private note-book ; and I could not submit my note- 
book. 

By the Court : 

Q. You have already tesliiied to those facts, have you not ? — A. Yes, 
sir ; but I presume it refers to my detailed notes. 

Q,. Your general testimony corresponds with the notes ? — A. Taken at 
the time. 

By the Recorder : 

Q. That was before going up ? — A. That was on the way up. 

Q. What was cached in the way of provisions at Cape Sabine, or near 
there ? — A. The first boat-load. Do you mean in the vessel by us ? 

The Recorder. Yes. 

A. The first boat-load that went in I took in myself. It was a whale- 
boat, as full as she could stand with provisions. 

Q. What were they ? — A. There were two large tarpaulin bags and 
three barrels of bread, a large quantity of sides of bacon, and assorted 
canned stores, probably three or four hundred pounds. Among these 
was a canister of tea, a tin can of matches, a can of five pounds of gun- 
powder, and a few scattered articles of clothing, some blouses and things 
thrown into the boat before the provisions were placed in, and the two tent 
flies, with which I covered the whole and weighted it down with stones. 
At Cape Sabine our party left no provisions, as w^e needed all we had for our- 
selves, but we did leave a large quantity of clothing, including that which 
was gotten from the crew of the Proteus by Lieutenant Garlington. It 
consisted of flannel blouses, uniform trousers, flannel shirts, woolen socks, 
mits and gloves, arctic overshoes, fur caps, woolen blankets, all covered 
with rubber blankets and weighted down with stones. The Proteus 
people left some provisions they were not able to carry in their boats; 
just what, I do not know, but among them were two or three barrels evi- 
dently of beef or pork — something of that sort. The first boat-load was 
cached about three or four miles west of Cape Sabine, and a general de- 



208 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OP INQUIRY. 

scription of the cove in which they were cached was left in the record at 
Cape Sabine. 

Q,. On Brevoort Island ? — A. On Brevoort Island ; that was where we 
left our record. 

Q. Do you know where the mails for Lieutenant Greely were, what 
part of the ship ? — A. No, sir ; I do not ; one of them floated up out of the 
main hatch as the ship went down, and went floating down the stream. It 
was a cylindrical tin can, and I was told it was mail. 

Q. None were saved to your knowledge ? — A. No, sir ; that can was 
beyond reach ; we could not get it. 

Q. How many rations do you estimate were left at Cape Sabine by your 
party? — A. I think the first boat I carried in had at least seven hundred 
rations in it, full rations, and the clothing we left. 

Q,. I refer particularly to the subsistence stores ? — A. What the Pro- 
teus left I do not know exactly. I saw generally what were left when 
they found they could not get them in their boats. 

Q. State how much clothing ? — A. I think the clothing was sufficient 
for twenty-three men for at least six months, fitting them all out well. 

By Mr. Kent : 

Q. Captain Pike testified that after the loss of the Proteus, when you 
had crossed over in your boat from Cape Sabine to Pandora Harbor, that 
a conference was had between himself and Lieutenant Garlington and 
yourself respecting the proper course of action after that time ; and that 
he advised that you should wait a few days at Littleton Island or Pandora 
Harbor. Have you any recollection of any such conference as that ?■ — A. 
None at all ; there was none. 

Q,. You had determined at Cape Sabine the course you would pursue ? — 
A. Yes, sir. 

No other witness being present, at 1 o'clock and 15 minutes the room 
was closed for consultation, and at 3 o'clock the court adjourned until 11 
o'clock a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D. C, 
Friday, December 28, 1883 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the previous day was read, 
amended, and approved. Captain Pike and Lieutenant Col well being 
present at the reading of their testimony. 
Whereupon, 

Capt. Richard Pike was recalled, and his examination continued as 
follows : 

By the Recorder : 

Q. Have you any additions to make to your testimony ? — A. No, sir. 

Q,. Or have you anything further to say to the court ? — A. There is one 
thing that Lieutenant Colwell and myself talked over the night the ship 
was lost. He said the first thing in the morning that we ought to do was 
to get the big whaleboat out and look fur the Yantic. We would get all 
the stores we could and go over to Littleton Island ; fill one boat and go 
right away and hunt for the Yantic at Once. That was on the floe. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 209 

And the first boat load of provisions was broug;ht by the mixed crew, halt 
my men and half the men from the expedition, and I think the second 
was a mixed crew the same way. 

Q. Do you remember anything about those men being left on the floe 
by yourself ? — A, I recollect some men on there. I do not know how 
many were left. 

Q. How did that happen ? — A. Well, there were boats there and the 
men were going back and forth on each boat. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did you think the idea of Lieutenant Colwell a good one, to take 
the boat and look for the Yantic ? — A. Yes, sir ; I thought so. 

Q. Why didn't he do it? — A. I do not know. That was what was 
proposed on the floe, on that night. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. Did you hear these men that were left on the floe make any com- 
plaint of having been left there? — A. None whatever. I heard none of 
it ; not a word. 

By General Hazen : 

Q,. The impression made by Lieutenant Colwell's testimony is that 
your going on shore with your son, and leaving a number of men on the 
ice floe, showed an intention on your part to abandon the men and leave 
them there. I would like to hear a little further explanation. — A. That 
was not my intention. In the boat we went ashore in, I had the chro- 
nometer and nautical instruments and other things, and there was I think 
five men in the boat going ashore. 

Q. It was your intention to look after the crew, and not to leave them, 
then ? — A. I expected to go through. We didn't know at that time that 
the boats would not go back and forth several times. 

Q. A witness has testified before this court that the crew of the Proteus 
was made up of beachcombers, longshoremen, and not sailors. I wish 
you would state explicitly the character of those men. — A. Those men I 
suppose for years has been going sealing, all but one I think, that was the 
assistant steward. He was never sealing, I do not think. 

Q. Then that description does not apply to those men ? — A. No, sir, it 
is not true. f 

The Recorder. I offer in evidence a certified statement from the Sig- 
nal Office of Lieutenant Greely's command, and ask that it be printed in 
the appendix. 

No other witness being present, the court (at 12.30 p. m.) then ad- 
journed until 11 a. m. to-morrow. 



Washington, D, C, 
Monday, December 31, 1883—11 a. m. 

%The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. The record of proceedings of the previous meeting was 
read, amended, and approved. 

The doors were then closed for deliberation, and (at 3 o'clock) the court 
adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. January 2, 1884. 
S. Ex. 100 14 



210 proceedings of protkus court of inquiry. 

Washington, D. C, 
Wednesday, January 2, 1884, 11a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the membersand 
the recorder. The record of the proceedings of the previous meeting was 
read and approved. The doors were then closed and the court was en- 
gaged in deliberation until 3 o'clock, when it adjourned until to-morrow 
at 11 a. m. 



Washington, D. C, 
Thursday, January 3, 1884, 11a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. 

General Hazen, being present in court, then made the following state- 
ment : 

I will state that I have already stated to the court my reasons for send- 
ing Sergeant Wall to Newfoundland, to superintend the loading of the 
stores, and requiring Mr. Garlington to go upon the Yantic with his men 
to take charge of them, and to see that they did not desert, as there was a 
great disposition to do that. Afterwards a sergeant was brought upon 
the stand, and testified that there was no such disposition of the men to 
desert. I wish to state, to confirm my first testimony, that every man 
brought from the Northwest, both in 1882 and 1883, for the purpose of 
going to Lady Franklin Bay, excepting two, who were discharged by 
order, have deserted, including the sergeant who was brought upon the 
stand to testify. I want to add further that I gave the most explicit or- 
ders to Lieutenant Garlington that I tliought were necessary in the letter 
which is before the court, signed by Captain Powell, to see with his own 
eyes that everything went on the ship in New York. That was my let- 
ter, dictated to Captain Powell, as I had to leave at that moment. I in- 
tended that should cover also his action at Newfoundland in loading the 
Proteus, but the absolute necessity of sending him with his men prevented 
that. I supposed, of course, he would have time afterwards before ar- 
riving at Lady Franklin Bay to look over and see where everything was, 
if there should be any mistake. 

By the Recorder : 
Q. You speak of the desertion of the men ; I suppose you mean alter 
the return of the expedition ? — A. Yes, sir; I only mentioned it to show 
that the disposition was manifested ; that they were deserting then, and 
they have since nearly all deserted. 

Q. Do I understand you that Sergeant Kenney, who was here and tes- 

ified, has since deserted? I understood him to say when he testified that 

he was on the police force. — A. I may be mistaken about that ; he may 

not have deserted, but all the men excepting two have deserted ; he may 

e one of the two. 

Q. I think he must have been honorably discharged. — A. Yes; it may 

be. 

By the Court 
Q. You said three had deserted l»efore they started? — A. Two had 
deserted just before they started. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PR)TEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 211 

By Mr. Kent: 

Q. General, do you remember at what time it was in the morning on 
the 4th of June that you arrived at your office ? — A. It was at 8 o'clock 
in the morning. It was an hour earlier than usual. I traveled all 
night to get here, to get that work under way early, and sent forward a 
telegraphic order for the office to open an hour earlier. I was there all 
of that morning. 

By the Recorder: 

Q. In reference to the time when the naval tender was applied for : 
the letter is dated May 14, I think, and the Secretary of the Navy testi- 
fied that it had been intimated to you that the Navy could furnish a war 
ship, but not an ice-boat. — A. Yes. sir. 

Q. Do you remember from whom you received that intimation ? — A. 
Probably from Commodore Walker, but I could not state. 

Q. What was the very first time, as well as you remember, that this 
matter was spoken of between the officers of the War Department and of 
the Navy Department ? — A. I should think about the time the letter was 
written — perhaps a few days before. It was a matter of my own appli- 
cation and my owm initiation. 

Q. You stated that it was about the time or some few days before you 
wrote the letter ? — A. Yes, sir. I made application to the Secretary of 
the Navy or Commodore Walker before the letter was written. 

Q,. With reference to the making of the appropriation for the expedi- 
tion, are you able to state why an earlier application was not made for 
naval assistance ? — A. I know of no reason, only that it had not been part 
of the plan before to call upon the Navy for assistance in this work, and 
by that time the necessity seemed so great that I was led to do it. 

Q. I will state my purpose in asking the question, so that you can 
answer further if you desire. It seems that it might have been possible 
to have made better preparation, to have had the ship in better condition 
to contend with the ice, but the necessity was not apparent, you say, until 
that time? — A. It did not force itself fully upon me up to that time to 
induce me to apply to them for aid in this matter, as it had not been the 
plan of the work to call for this aid. 

Mr. Linden Kent, counsel for Lieutenant Garlington, then addressed 
the court, as follows : 

argument OF MR. KENT. 

May it please the court : 

In availing myself of the privilege granted of appearing in behalf of 
Lieutenant Garlington, I shall endeavor to confine myself very closely to 
the consideration only of such matters as relate to his conduct. 

Now, in order to ascertain what part of the investigation is directly ap- 
plicable to him, I may refer at once to the order of the Secretary of War 
convening this court of inquiry. The duties and powers with which it is 
charged are : 

First. To investigate the organization and outfit of the Greely relief ex- 
pedition, transported by the steamer Proteus, having particular reference to 
the orders and instructions issued for the guidance and government of the 
same. 



212 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Second. To make a thorough investigation of the general conduct ot 
the expedition, including particularly (1) the failure of the Proteus to keep 
in company with the Yantic up to Littleton Island, or some point near 
there, and (2) the failure to establish a well-supplied depot of supplies at 
or near Littleton Island. 

With refei'ence to the investigation under the first branch of this order 
Lieutenant Garlington has little concern. Whatever responsibility he 
may have desired to assume, touching at least the loading of the ship, his 
request made for this purpose, for reasons assigned, was refused, and he 
stands acquitted of all manner of responsibility attaching to it. 

The orders issued for the guidance and government of the expedition 
necessarily control and determine the propriety of his action as the officer 
in charge of the same. But inasmuch as it is now conceded that the un- 
signed memorandum, inaccurately designated as " Inclosure 4," or " sup- 
plementary instructions," in point of fact formed no part of his orders, I 
shall assume that he stands relieved of the many unjust criticisms on his 
conduct, made upon the assumption that the ''supplementary instructions" 
did constitute a part thereof. I shall therefore direct your attention to 
the second branch of the inquiry : 

The general conduct of the expedition. — Lieutenant Garlington recognizes 
the fact that the inquiry into the conduct of the expedition applies directly, 
of course, to his conduct. After the departure of the ship on its north- 
ward course from Newfoundland, on the 29th of June, his important duties 
and functions began, and subject to the organization and outfit of the ex- 
pedition, and the orders and instructions issued, and received by him for 
its guidanre and control, he stands before this court properly charged with 
the whole responsibility of the conduct thereof, although it had the mis- 
fortune to result in failure. 

In discussing the matters which relate to his conduct I shall endeavor 
to be brief. In considering so much of the investigation as has any rela- 
tion to the conduct of Garlington, I have made the following classification : 

First. The failure of Lieutenant Garlington to establish a well-provided 
station of supplies at or near Littleton Island, on the northward course of 
the Proteus. 

Second. The failure of the Proteus to keep in company with the Yantic 
up to, or near Littleton Island. 

Third. The propriety of Lieutenant Garlington's conduct in coming 
directly south from Littleton Island after the loss of the Proteus, instead 
of avA'aiting the arrival of the Yantic. 

I think that these may be considered, in the light of the testimony given, 
the only matters with which Garlington is concerned in the investiga- 
tion being made. 

First, the failure of Lieutenant Garlington to establish a well-provided 
station at or near Littleton Island on the northward course of the Proteus : 

The letter of the Secretary of War of October 31, 1883, addressed to 
General Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, in reply to General Hazen's letter of 
the 16th of October, transmitting the report of Lieutenant Garlington as 
the officer in charge of the conduct of the expedition, having reference to 
paper marked as " Inclosure 4," and noted as such in the copy furnished 
of Lieutenant Garlington's instructions, says : " These latter papers were 
of course supposed by the Secretary of the Navy and myself to be, as stated. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 213 

an authentic copy of your instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, and we 
in our conferences formed an opinion as to his having disobeyed an order 
which it now appears he did not, in fact, receive as an order." 
General Hazen, in his letter of the 16th of October, says : 

The strictures upoii Lieutenant Garlington, so far as they refer to the question of dis- 
obedience, have been unwarranted. 

If upon this subject the letter of General Hazen had stopped, after 
making this concession to Lieutenant Garlington, I venture -to say that in 
view of what the testimony has developed nothing more than simple justice 
would have been done him. He would doubtless also have escaped the 
strictures that were made upon him by the Secretary of War, and the 
public press, properly, I will admit, in the light of the qualifications made 
in the letter of General Hazen respecting the authority attaching to " In- 
closure 4." Notwithstanding; the concession thus made to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington that he had not disobeyed orders, yet such were the qualifications 
with which it was made, and so manifest the injustice done him thereby, 
that he himself, in his letter of the 20th of October to General Hazen, re- 
quests that a court of inquiry may be ordered upon his conduct; which, 
however, not upon his request, and embracing an investigation of other 
matters not relating to his conduct, was, on the 31st of October, ordered 
by the Secretary of War. 

Now, may it please the court, returning to General Hazen's letter, and 
begging you to bear in mind that when it was written the true import and 
history of " Inclosure 4 " was a sealed book, unknown to the Secre- 
tary of War and every one else outside of the Signal Office (as it per- 
haps is still), and the most that had been known about it was, that on the 
14th of September it had been published by authority of the Signal Office 
as a part of Garlington's instructions, we find General Hazen using the 
following language with respect to it, noting first that it was, in conflict 
with Greely's letter of request, " that no deviation from these instructions 
should be permitted," &c. 

This made it a matter of greatest delicacy to give any directions that in any manner 
might change the programme there marked out — 

Having reference to the programme prearranged between Lieutenant 
Greely and himself. 
The letter continues : 

Just before starting Lieutenant Garlington brought a copy of a memorandum that 
had been prepared for the Secretary of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions to 
the convoy, which contained the original condition of first landing at Littleton Island, 
explaining that it would conflict with the plans of Lieutenant Greely, so far as it should 
consume the time of the expedition, and in case he should find clear weather and open 
water beyond, with a fair prospect of getting straight through, while by stopping he 
might lose the opportunity if he should not at once proceed. 

Now, this memorandum was the subject of the conversation between 
General Hazen and Lieutenant Garlington, and General Hazen directly 
in that connection, and having reference to what was being said between 
Garlington and himself respecting the authority to be attached to 'his 
paper said : 

I replied that the authority and discretion which must always rest with the comnu ader 
on the spot, must in such case be his guide. 

The great delicacy in imposing positive instructions in cases like this seemed to make 
the simple suggestion in that paper sufficient. 



214 PKOCKKDINGS OF PROTEI S COIJKT < »F INQUIRY. 

I submit that but oue construction can be placed upon tliis letter, 
and that is, that though " Inclosure 4 " was not given as an order, it was 
given as calling attention to a matter so manifestly proper to be done that 
it was not necessary to make it the subject of an order, the mere suggestion 
being sufficient. 

The conclusion to be drawn from that letter is, that it had even greater 
force than an order; that it was one of those things that in such an expe- 
dition addresses itself to the discretion and wisdom of the officer so forcibly 
that the simple suggestion was sufficient. The conclusion, from the lan- 
guage of this letter, by one having only such information respecting the 
subject-matter thereof as is therein contained, is irresistible, that this memo- 
randum was purposely and designedly given to Garlington as an authority 
to be exercised under the discretion with which he was then and there 
clothed directly with respect to it. 

It is manifest that the Secretary of War so construed it, for he says in 
reference to this very language, in reply to General Hazen's letter : 

It is now clear that it was never an order to Lieutenant Garlington, but it is equally 
clear that, having seen it and having under your orders a discretion, he could not have 
have done more wisely than to follow the particular suggestion contained in it above 
mentioned. 

And again : 

If Lieutenant Garlington had prudently made a base of supplies at or near Littleton 
Island it would have been a matter of little consequence to him or his party whether 
the Proteus went to St. John's, or, without loss of life, to the bottom of the ocean. 

Assuming that he had authority to do so. 

Now we come to consider what discretion Lieutenant Garlington had 
under his unquestioned, positive written instructions, and whether or not that 
discretion, whatever it was, embraced the authority to make a depot of sup- 
plies at or near Littleton Island on the way north. 

If he had such discretion he is justly subjected to any proper criticism 
for his error of judgment in failing to exercise it wisely. If he did not 
have it, then he ought to stand acquitted at once of all responsibility for 
such failure. 

To ascertain what discretion Garlington had under his instructions brings 
us directly to the consideration of the testimony of the witnesses speaking 
of the circumstances and conditions cotemporaneous with the preparation 
of the instructions, and some consideration in that connection of "Inclos- 
ure 4." 

As the basis of what I may say on this branch it . may be well to fix 
some standard to determine where discretion ends and disobedience of 
orders begins. Before this court, it is with distrust that I undertake to say 
anything upon this subject, but the propositions which I submit as con- 
trolling in a matter of this kind are in themselves so fundamental, that I 
submit them with confidence to the court. 

The classification made in respect to orders, for the purposes of my argu- 
ment, is the following: 

First. A general order to a subordinate authorizing and directing the 
performance of a duty, without anticipating by the superior officer, the 
conditions which may exist when the time and place are present for its 
performance, but leaving the manner thereof entirely to the discretion of 
the officer charged with the duty. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 215 

Second. Orders in the nature of specific instructions contemplating on 
the part of the superior a certain given state of facts at the time and place 
when and where the duty is to be discharged, and predicating the manner 
of its execution upon the existence of such facts. 

If the facts contemplated are found to exist when the duty is to be per- 
formed, then any departure from the instructions given in reference to such 
a state of facts is disobedience of orders. If, however, the conditions are 
different from those contemplated as the basis of instructions, the subor- 
dinate, with a proper regard for the spirit of the instructions, must exer- 
cise his discretion under the unanticipated conditions he finds at the time. 

Now, considering the instructions of Lieutenant Garlington under that 
classification (in view of the familiarity of the court with the instructions 
and the facts concerning them), I think no argument need be made to 
show that Lieutenant Garlington's instructions in respect certainly to tlie 
matter of leaving stores at Littleton Island, were specific instructions, 
and that they contemplated conditions that were never so changed as to 
authorize him under his discretion to make the deposit on the northward 
course, in direct conflict with his written instructions. 

The well-defined written instructions of the 4th of June, 1883, are spe- 
cific and clear on this point. Moreover, emphasis is given to them from 
the fact that Greely's letter of the 17th of August, 1881, is made an ex- 
hibit therewith. 

Then, what first introduced the element of discretion on this point which 
has created all the confusion, doubt, and trouble in this matter ? I sub- 
rait it was " Inclosure 4." It is the poison which lias been infused into 
all the branches of this investigation. In respect to " Inclosure 4," Lieu- 
tenant Garlington says, on page 6 of the record : 

Q. I wish you would state the history of the inclosure described as No. 4 and as 
instructions for the Yantic and Proteus. — A. Between the 15th and 20th of May, 1883, 
I was in the office of the executive officer of the Signal Office, Lieutenant Caziarc, and 
he showed me the rough notes of a paper which he was preparing to be furnished the 
Navy Department as a basis of the instructions which the Signal Office was going to ask 
to have given the naval vessel which I was informed was to accompanj' me. In this 
conversation I learned that General Hazen, previous to his departure for St. John's, 
Newfoundland, which had occurred some days previously, had asked the Navy Depart- 
ment to detail a suitable vessel to go with us as a tender; but no one in the Signal Office 
knew that such a request had been made, nor was there any copy of the letter on file 
that he had sent to the Navy Department. A few days afterwards I learned from Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc that this paper had been submitted to Captain Powell, who was then 
Acting Chief Signal Officer, and that that officer had declined to take any steps in the 
matter until the return of General Hazen. I remember nothing more of the memoran- 
dum until the 5th of June, I think. General Hazen in the mean time had returned from 
St. John's and I was furnished with my instructions. I was in the office of Lieutenant 
Caziarc when I got the instructions. I opened them and found in the same envelope 
vFith the instructions this memorandum. It was not addressed, not numbered as an 
inclosure, and bore no official marks whatever except in the lower left-hand corner the 
initials (O. C. S. O.) of the office of the Chief Signal Officer, June 5, 1883. I had never 
seen it before, except in the rough notes; I went into General Hazen 's office and told him 
that I had received my instructions, and among them I had found this paper, and called 
his attention especiallytothatclau.se relating to thelandingof all my stores at Littleton 
Island on my way north, and also calling his attention to the fact that it conflicted with my 
instructions; he said that he did not know how that paper got in there, and I think I 
remarked that I knew how it got in; that it had been prepared by Lieutenant Caziarc, 
and perhaps he had probably' put it in; after he made the remark that he did not know 
how the paper got in among my other papers I of course thought that he 
had not even approved this memorandum, and that it was nothing more than a 
piece of paper that had accidentally got in among my instructions. We then had some 
conversation about the expedition, in the course of which he told me that he had the 



216 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

utmost confidence in me, and that while I should make the attempt to follow as nearly 
as possible the plan laid down in the letter of Lieutenant Greely, which had been writ- 
ten from Fort Conger, that I must he governed to a great extent by my own judgment 
on the spot. . I do not think there was anything more of any importance in that con- 
versation. 

By the Court : 

Q. Did General Hazen state that the memorandum got in there accidentally or that 
he did not know how it got there? — A. His words were, "I don't know how that got 
in there." 

Q. Did he made any effort to withdraw j,it ? — A. No, sir. After that I paid no more 
attention to the memorandum at all and never regarded it as an instruction or suggestion 
in any light, nor did he in that conversation allude to it in any way as a suggestion or 
that I was to act upon it as a suggestion: 

General Hazen stated in his testimony that those instructions were no 
part of Garlington's orders. 

On page 25 of the record, Lieutenant Garlington says : 

Q. When did you first hear, then, of the paper described as the supplemental instruc- 
tions? — A. I saw it while it was being written by Lieutenant Caziarc. 

Q. How long subsequent to the time when you saw the original instructions? — A. It 
was about the middle of May, aiter General Hazen had gone to St. John's; I do not re- 
member the exact date; I think it was somewhere between the 15th and 20th of May; 
probably a little later. 

Q. Then you heard no more of those supplementary instructions until you saw them 
in your envelope ? — A. No, sir; nothing at all. 

Now, may it please the court, I desire to call attention to the fact that 
the testimony of Lieutenant Garlington was the first given in this case. 
That he could not have been in any way biased by the testimony subse- 
quently given on this same point, but it must have been the result of his 
own unaided recollection, relying entirely upon his own memory for the 
statement he made, unrefreshed by the history given by subsequent wit- 
nesses of the same occurrences. His impression was that Lieutenant 
Caziarc was drawing up this paper of his own accord to have the paper in 
readiness if called for. 

The next testimony is that of Captain Powell, who was Acting Chief 
Signal Officer at that time, and I will not trouble the court with more 
than a general reference to it. He fixes the preparation of this paper at 
the identical time that Lieutenant Garlington had done. Garlington says 
it was between the 1 5th and 20th of May, probably a little later. Captain 
Powell testifies that on or about the 20th of May he had a conversation 
with the Secretary of the Navy, in which the Secretary of the Navy de- 
sired some memorandum or paper as a basis of instructions to be fur- 
nished the tender that was to accompany the Proteus. Moreover at that 
conversation he testifies, as does also the Secretary of the Navy, that the 
question was asked whether the Signal Office wanted the Yantic to carry 
more than her own supply of stores, whether she was to be used as a sup- 
ply ship, in any sense, and how far north she was expected to go. Now, 
to fix exactly the time when this occurred: Powell fixes it by reference 
to his conversation with the Secretary of the Navy. He says that he 
immediately telegraphed to General Hazen on the subject, and fixes the 
date by the date of his telegram to General Hazen at St. John's. On 
page 75 Lieutenant Caziarc testifies as follows : 

I find that two telegrams were received on the 21st of May in the order in which I will 
read them ; in answer to a message of the 20th of May, sent by Captain Powell to Gen- 
eral Hazen, in which he informed him in substance that "the Secretaryof the Navy will 
send a tender as you requested," he asked the question, " When will she be needed at St. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 217 

John's, and what will be the northern limit of the voyage?" and asked him to outline 

the instructions. To which General Hazen replied in a telegram received at 1.33 p. m. , 

May 21, dated 21st, Halifax: 

"Tender to go to southern limits of pack-ice; to leave St. John's about July 1." 

The other, received at 1.54 p. m. same day, dated 21st, Halifax: 

" Will be back about June 2. Hold all instructions till I come. Tender to be at St. 

John's, say, June 25." 

Referring now to the Record, page 115, Secretary Chandler's testimony^ 
he says that prior to the 4th of June — 

Commodore Walker, I think, informed me that Captain Powell had called upon him 
with reference to the instructions, and I told Commodore Walker that I wished to see 
Captain Powell in person, and the latter came to myofB.ce; I had an interview with him, 
the substance of which was this: I said to him that in joint expeditions of this kind dif- 
ferences frequently arose as to the measure of responsibility, and that as the naval vessel 
was to assist in an expedition that belonged to the War Department I desired that a re- 
quest for the specific instructions to be given the commanding officer of the naval vessel 
should be furnished by him to the Navy Department. I remember also asking him 
whether he desired that the naval vessel should carry anything in the way of extra pro- 
visions or outfit for parties who might travel upon the ice, or for Lieutenant Garlington's 
party in case anything should happen to the Proteus, and he said no, he thought not. 

His recollection on that subject corresponds with that of Captain Powell : 

He may have said that he would consider that question and give a further reply. But 
I understood at that time that the Yantic would not be expected to take anything in the 
way of outfit or stores beyond enough for her own purposes, but that the Proteus would 
carry everything. 

Now, you have by the subject-matter of the telegrams fixed the 20tliof 
May as the day upon which Captain Powell says he asked for the very 
information from Lieutenant Caziarc that was desired by the Secretary of 
the Navy, which was subsequently embodied in "Inclosure 4." On the 21st 
he hears from General Hazen, and General Hazen tells him to withhold 
all instructions, " 1 will be home the 2d of June." Captain Powell's 
testimony further is that immediately upon receipt of that, he called upon 
the Secretary of the Navy and informed him of the contents of General 
Hazen's telegram, as he naturally would do, and then the Secretary of the 
Navy informed him that there would be time to get up the instructions 
after General Hazen's return. General Hazen himself in regard to these 
papers, in liarmony with the recollection of Captain Powell (see page 25)^ 
says : 

Immediately after my return from St. John's, where I had been to employ the Pro- 
teus, I was informed that the Navy Department had asked for a plan of what we wished 
done in the Arctic seas. I do not think I saw that memorandum. I do not remember 
of seeing it at that time, but I was told what it contained ; that it contained a condition 
to land the stores on going up. I immediately went to the Navy Department and had 
an interview with either the Secretary of the Navy, or Commodore Walker, or whoever 
was in charge at that time, and told him personally what I wanted. It was this: That 
the tender or escort proceed northward with the Proteus as far as Littleton Island and 
do such things as were usual for an escort to do or intended to be done on such occasions, 
and such things as the developments and the facts found upon the spot might seem nec- 
essary to be agreed upon. I also carried or sent in place of the memorandum the orders 
prepared for Mr. Garlington on that trip. I also sent with it the letter which Lieuten- 
ant Greely had sent back after having arrived at Lady Franklin Bay, on which Mr. 
Garlington's order was founded. I thought they were better adapted or suited to the 
expedition, and they took the place of that memorandum, as I understood. A day or 
two after, perhaps the next day, Mr. Garlington brought me his packet of orders, and 
in that packet was this same memorandum. He expressed some surprise at finding it 
there and asked me how it got there. I told him that I did not know. I told him that 
it was no part of his orders, and then I gave him the history of the paper as I have 
given it here. 



218 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 

What is General Hazen's history of the paper ? He stated that when 
the preparation of instructions was first, considered, and before the act of 
Congress providing that the appropriation then made should be used for 
bringing the party back in the summer of 1883, that he had considered 
the propriety of establishing (notwithstanding Lieutenant Greely's letter 
of request) a depot of supplies at or near Littleton Island. It had been 
a matter that had been fully considered by him, and he had reached a 
conclusion in respect to it. When the Secretary of the Navy in com- 
pliance with the request of the Secretary of War, made at General Ha- 
zen's instance, consented to furnish the ship Yantic as a tender, he said he 
thought then that this would so change the conditions that there was no 
absolute necessity for departing from the strict request and directions of 
Lieutenant Greely. Now I gather further from General Hazen's testimony, 
that he intended to impress, and doubtless did impress, upon Lieutenant 
Garlingtou that the written instructions were positive and emphatic, and at 
the same time to what extent he was to exercise discretion in their execu- 
tion. 

I told him also that when on the spot he must exercise in all matters that discretion 
which every distant commander must exercise, which reposes in him by virtue of his 
office. I told him that he had my full confidence, and I expected him to exercise his 
discretion in matters as they would develop themselves on the spot. Mr. Garlington 
had been selected lor known high qualities, and the Greely letter was of that nature 
and character, written as it was after he had arrived there, knowing all the facts as no 
other man in the world could know them, that I felt that I was excluded from giving 
Lieutenant Garlington any orders that would in any manner conflict with his directions. 

Further on he says, on page 25: 

I was, however, very anxious to order 3Ir. Garlington to stop at Littleton Island, hut it 
seemed to me tinder the circumstances that a bare svggestion would be all that I ought to give 
him; that I ought to leave him with his mind unbiased and unclouded, to act as the cir- 
cumstances on the spot might dictate, with full knowledge of Mr. Greely's letter; he 
having this memoranda, which he read to me, it seemed to me that that was a sufficient 
suggestion, and I said nothing further about it; Mr. Garlington was possessed of full 
knowledge of the entire scheme and entire plan from the beginning, and I thought it 
best to leave it to him to exercise his entire discretion in regard to matters so far as he 
could while carrying out also the letter of Mr. Greely and the instructions which were 
based upon that; it seemed to me that everything which by very great care and atten- 
tion could be thought of was placed at his disposal, and I did not feel that I was author- 
ized to give him detailed instructions as to his duties, after he had arrived on the spot, 
further than to conform to the orders which he already had and that were based upon Mr. Gree- 
ly's letter. 

Four times on one page he alludes to the question of discretion, and 
each time very properly limits the exercise of that discretion making it 
subject to Lieutenant Greely's letter requesting that this very thing should 
not be done which Garlington was subsequently criticised for omitting to 
do under his discretion. Not only that, but General Hazen testifies fur- 
ther, in answer to a question of the court, I think : 

Q. Was any plan of rescue or relief matured with Lieutenant Greely before he left 
that you know of? — A. Yes, sir. The matter was thought of very carefully and the 
plan was elaborated. It is contained in his original order establishing his expedition. 
Q. Directing him to retreat by way of Grinnell Land ? — A. Yes, sir. [Reading. ] 
"In case no vessel reaches the permanent station in 1882, the vessel sent in 1883 will 
remain in Smith's Sound until there is danger of its closing by ice, and on leaving will 
land all her supplies and a party at Littleton Island, which party will be prepared 
for," &c. 

This is a prearranged plan between General Hazen and Lieutenant 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 219 

Greely for the operations of the relief party. I read from General Ha- 
zen's testimony again on page 31 : 

Q. In your letter of October 16, 1883, transmitting to the Secretary of War the first 
report of Lieutenant Garlington, speaking in reference to this memorandum you state 
this: 

' ' Just before starting, Lieutenant Garlington brought a copy of a memorandum that 
had been prepared for the Secretary of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions to 
the convoy which contained the original condition of first landing at Littleton Island, 
&c." 

From that it would appear that that memorandum had been originally prepared in your 
office by somebody for the Secretary of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions for 
the Yantic. — A. I was told when I returned that that was the case, and I have no doubt 
it was the case. But before it was sent over I had considered the subject myself, and saw 
that that memorandum was not in accordance with the Greely letter, and it was a mat- 
ter which I had already decided not to make one of the conditions, and I immediately 
went myself in person and explained what I wanted, and carried, or had sent afterwards, 
the orders of Lieutenant Garlington and the Greely letter to take the place of that mem- 
orandum. 

I read this to show how the matter of discretion stands, and what views 
were impressed upon Lieutenant Garlington in this regard. General 
Hazen further says, page 32 : 

Q. TNTiy did you change your views in regard to that and discuss the idea of going con-, 
trary to the views of Lieutenant Greely by making a depot on Littleton Island as the 
vessel went up instead of carrying ou.t the original intention of making it as the vessel 
came down ? — A. For the reason that it seemed to me that if everything was carried past 
Littleton Island it would place so much in one boat, and if it was lost there would be so 
much lost that it would be better to change Mr. Greely 's plan that far. As soon as it 
was determined to have a tender, it then did not seem to me that the necessity was suf- 
ficient to deviate at all from his directions. 

Q. Because the tender, being at Littleton Island, would actually be a depot? — A. 
Would actually be a depot; yes, sir. 

Now, may it please the court, here is a curious circumstance in respect 
to " Inclosure 4." General Hazen, the chief of the department, testifies 
that " Inclosure 4" was not necessary, and that no such departure was re- 
quired from the positive request of Lieutenant Greely, because the tender 
was to be supplied, and yet this very paper is marked as a memorandum 
to form the basis of instructions for the tender, and was prepared in his 
office for that very purpose, although the granting of the tender was the rea- 
son given by the Chief for not adopting such a paper as "Inclosure 4." 

It seems that General Hazen never authorized the preparation of this 
paper at all, and on the contrary has stated that he thought it was not 
necessary because the Proteus was to have a tender, and yet the existence 
of that very fact was the reason assigned for preparing this paper which 
has given so much trouble in the case. 

General Hazen testified that as soon as he looked at Inclosure 4 he saw 
it was in direct conflict with the letter of Lieutenant Greely, requesting 
orders to be given to the officer in charge of the expedition for his relief. 
Examine this paper, and yon will see but one conflict in it with such re- 
quests, but one conflict in it with Lieutenant Garlington's instructions 
as given, and that is : to permit and authorize the Proteus to laud her 
stores (except the supplies for the more northerly depots) on the way up. 
That was the one point in that paper, and the only point that was in con- 
flict with anything that Garlington had received, or that Greely had re- 
quested. Then when the Chief Signal Officer aduiits that this paper was 
in conflict with the instructions, and says moreover that the request of 



220 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Lieutenant Greely and the prearranged plans between them respecting 
the powers to be given the officer charged with his relief, were so definite 
and fixed that they were a law unto him, and he, with his power to do so 
as the chief officer, refused and declined emphatically, as Captain Clapp 
testified, when it M^as urged upon him to change these orders, because it 
was in direct conflict with Greely's request and the ^prearranged plans, 
how, may I ask, would it be possible to justify the exercise of a discretion 
on the part of Garlington which General Hazen informs him would be in 
direct conflict with his instructions on this point ? He declines to do it, 
and it is brought to Lieutenant Garlington's attention. And yet under 
the very order that is given, based upon that request, criticism is made 
upon the subordinate that he, under his assumed discretion, declines to do 
that which his Chief has decided is in conflict with the request of Greely and 
the orders of Garlington. 

General Hazen to Garlington was as emphatic and explicit on that sub- 
ject as it was possible to be. If the thought of establishing a depot at 
Littleton Island on the northward course was so wise as a suggestion, why 
wasn't it made the subject of official action ? Let us see how General 
Hazen considered the request of Lieutenant Greely in answering a question, 
on page 36, propounded by the recorder : 

Q. As I understand, your reasons for making your instructions to Mr. Beebe and to 
Lieutenant Garlington conform to the requests of Lieutenant Greely in reference to his 
rescue were in order that there should he no disappointment to Lieutenant Greely, and 
that there should be such a concert of action that he would know where they would 
probably meet? — A. The reason was that this plan was prearranged by Mr. Greeley. 
It was the only possible plan that could be followed on account of his position. To have 
violated a prearranged plan of that kind, should any disaster ceme from it, there would 
be no excusing it. 

The officer charged with the preparation of the instructions, with all 
power respecting them, declines to include in his order, directions to do a 
certain thing, saying that if it should be done, and any disaster should 
ensue, there would be no excusing it. What, then, would be said of the 
officer charged with the execution of duties, in which he is prohibited in 
terms from doing that same thing, if he so far forgot the spirit and letter 
of his orders as to have done this prohibited act under the color of some 
vague and imaginary discretion ? Surely it would not be contended by any 
one that there would be the least pretense of excuse or justification if 
disaster had resulted under this disobedience of orders. 

Now, may it please the court, I submit that the account of the prepara- 
tion of " Inclosure 4," as given by Lieutenant Garlington, Captain Powell, 
and General Hazen, in their testimony, is the true history of " Inclosure 
4," and I think Lieutenant Caziarc, in respect to the time at least of its 
preparation, must have been mistaken. So far as it affected Lieutenant 
Garlington with respect to the discretion given to him, I drop it from 
further consideration. 

I have only in this connection considered the history of the paper be- 
fore June 5, in its effect upon Garlington's instructions. Its further his- 
tory is a very curious one, which I may speak of in another connection. 
Then, I say that there was certainly under " Inclosure 4 " in the light of the 
testimony that has been given in respect to it, no discretion under which 
Lieutenant Garlington could land stores at Littleton Island on his north- 
ward course. Was there any verbal order given that authorized it? Gar- 
lington says not, and General Hazen says not. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 221 

Was there even silence on the subject of Garlington's instructions in 
the Signal Office, leaving him to construe his own instructions, and to de- 
viate therefrom in the direction of greater safety if he thought best? The 
testimony shows that this very subject was fully considered by his supe- 
rior and Chief, and that General Hazen himself passed upon the propriety 
of the very act and considered it in conflict with Lieutenant Greely's let- 
ter of request, and so informed Garlington and Captain Clapp. 

Garlington, in his report on page 19, says: 

When I found it among my instructions I at once carried it to you and called your 
attention especially to that clause relating to landing supplies on Littleton Island. You 
said, in substance, you did not know how that had gotten in there, and impressed upon me 
the necessity of carrying out, as far as possible, the instructions I had received. These 
instructions were based upon the letter of Lieutenant Greely (first inclosure of appendix 
" A" ) , and you called my attention to the fact that Lieutenant Greely strongly urged that 
the officer commanding the relief party should have no ' ' latitude of action. ' ' The paper 
was not addressed nor signed, indeed bore no official marks whatever. I did not then, 
nor have I at any time since, regarded it as an order, and I was surprised to find the 
statement published that this paper was the ' ' supplementary instructions. ' ' 

It may be well just here to note how emphatic Ijieutenant Greely him- 
self is on this, subject : 

No deviation from these instructions should be permitted. Latitude of action should 
not be given to a relief party, who on a known coast are searching for men who know their 
plans and orders. 

But, further than this. Lieutenant Garlington had a chart for his guidance. 
This was not the first expedition that had attempted to accomplish the 
purposes and objects for which he was sent. It was not the first expedi- 
tion that had been embarked under substantially the same orders and in- 
structions, in this particular, that Lieutenant Garlington held. In an- 
swer to a question propounded by the court, General Hazen, on page 33, 
says : 

Question. Did the relief expedition of 1882 (ship Neptune, Mr. Beebe in charge) sail 
with any instructions to establish Depots A and B on the way north or suggestions to that 
effect? — Answer. It was directed to make those Depots A. and B, not on its way up, but 
on its way returning, in case it should not get through. 

Q. Was the letter of Lieutenant Greely from Fort Conger, dated August 17, 1881, 
construed by you as specifying that these depots should be established by the relief ex- 
pedition of 1882 on its way north or only after failure to reach Lady Franklin Bay? — A. 
It was intended that it should be made only in case they failed to reach him. 

Q. Were the instructions to the relief expedition of 1883 (Lieutenant Garlington's) 
essentially the same as those to the expedition of the previous year ? — A. They were, 
with the difference that the expedition going in 1882 was for the purpose of reaching 
Lieutenant Greely, and lailingto reach him then, after making the Depots A and B, to 
bring its stores all back to St. John's. The expedition of 1883 was to reach Lieutenant 
Greely if possible and bring him away, and failing to do that establish its stores about 
Littleton Island in place of bringing them to St. John's, after making the two Depots 
A and B. 

Q. Did the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, based upon the Greely letter, con- 
template his leaving depots of provisions, &c. , at Littleton Island and Cape Sabine on 
his way north, or only after it should be ascertained to be impossible to get the ship 
through to Lady Franklin Bay ? — A. Only after it should be determined that he could 
not get it through. 

Q. Were the Depots A and B, referred to in the Greely letter, actually established 
by the Beebe expedition of 1882? — A. They were. 

Q. Was any exception ever taken to the courseof the expedition of 1882 (Mr. Beebe's) 
in passing to the northward of Littleton Island without stopping to make a depot there? — 
A. None whatever. 

Q. Did you approve of Mr. Beebe's action in making the depots at Cape Sabine and 
Littleton Island on his way south instead of on his way north? — A. I did; in my in- 
structions for him to do so and in Mr. Greely's directions also. 

Q. Mr. Beebe's expedition of 1882 seems to have construed the letter of Lieutenant 



222 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Greely to mean that the Depots A and B should be established when on his way south, 
after failing to reach Lady Franklin Bay. Has this been your construction also ? — A. 
It has. 

Q. And do you still so construe that letter ? — A. I do. 

Garlington had, as a chart for his guidance, the conduct of that officer 
which met with the approval of his superiors in attempting to discharge 
the same duty, and he proceeds to discharge that duty in the very same 
manner that Mr. Beebe had discharged it, the manner of which was not the 
subject of any criticism, but met the approval of his superior. In conclu- 
sion on that point General Hazen himself says : 

Q. Do you not think that I carried out the spirit of my instructions in not stopping 
at Littleton Island and leaving the greater part of my stores there on the way north? — 
A. I do. There is one statement that I would like to make with regard to that memo- 
randum, and that is that I have no recollection of that memorandum until it was brought 
to me by Mr. Garlington, although I may have seen it. Some clerk may have brought 
it to me, but I have no recollection of it. 

It strikes me that this is conclusive upon any inquiry into the conduct 
of the subordinate. He received his orders from his superior. His su- 
perior, in answer to a question propounded, does him the justice to .say 
that he has properly construed the orders, and has carried them out in 
their spirit. Lieutenant Garlington is relieved of all criticism for diso- 
bedience of orders, and at the same time is relieved of any criticism that 
could be made upon the exercise of his discretion under such orders. 

Captain Clapp says he recommended the establishment of a depot of 
supplies at Cape Sabine, and on the northward course, and that General 
Hazen was emphatic in his disapproval of it as a departure from Lieuten- 
ant Greely 's plan. 

Now, may it please the court, in conclusion on this point, what are the 
instructions to Lieutenant Garlington ? I will not read them to the Court 
in this connection, but they are as positive as instructions can be that the 
one thing is to press forward at all hazards — take advantage of every lead. 
In this connection I will refer to General Hazen's testimony where he is 
asked whether or not time had anything to do with the determination of 
the question to land stores at Littleton Island, and there he again repeats 
that it was one of the reasons that he took that into consideration ; that 
they could not aiford the loss of time for landing these stores at Littleton 
Island. You have it all the way through impressed upon Garlington that 
if he finds the conditions such when he arrives at Littleton Island he must 
push forward. It is explicit and clear. No discretion is given to do that 
very thing which the letter of request of Lieutenant Greely forbids and 
which Hazen's instructions emphasize almost in every line. 

So in the discussion in Lieutenant Garlington's presence, of this very 
subject-matter, and General Hazen's explicit words that Greely's letter was 
law to him and he could not depart from it. Did the conditions exist when 
Lieutenant Garlington arrived at Littleton Island, as contemplated by 
General Hazen, to make it his duty to push on to the relief of his com- 
rades ? Lieutenant Garlington, on the steamer Proteus, on the 22d day 
of July, and before the disaster, and certainly having no reference to an 
investigation of this kind, says : 

Appendix D. 

Steamer Proteus, 
United States Relief Expedition, 22d July, 1883. 
At 6 a. m. we are rounding Cape Alexander, and will enter Pandora Harbor to leave 
this record. No ice met between Carey Island and this point, and none to be seen to the 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PEOTBUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 223 

north from the "crow's-nest" with the aid of a powerful telescope. Weather perfect; if 
it continues I will go directly north and not stop at Littleton Island to leave a record, for it 
takes but a very short time to change the aspect in these regions. 

(Signed) E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut. 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding. 

Therefore I submit to the court that you find liere the very conditions 
that were contemplated by his instructions, and if he had failed to carry 
them out and had omitted to do the very thing upon which his orders were 
explicit, he would certainly have had no justification before this court in 
claiming that he had a discretion — a discretion in direct conflict with orders. 

I respectfully submit that the conditions contemplated by General 
Hazen's orders had not changed when Lieutenant Garliugton arrived at 
Littleton Island, and if he had failed to push forward it would not have 
been in exercise of a discretion, but a disobedience of orders. When 
Lieutenant Garlington was standing on the deck of his ship on the 23d 
of July, urging that under his instructions, which contemplated that he 
should take advantage of every lead to reach his comrades, that it would 
be an injustice to them and a want of fidelity to his Government if he 
failed to take advantage of the open leads, he was doing nothing more than 
a zealous officer should have done under the circumstances in performing 
the very duties that were imposed upon him by instructions that he held 
for the conduct of the expedition. 

Now, may it please the courtj I come to the consideration of the second 
branch of the inquiry that relates to Lieutenant Garlington. 

The failure of the Proteus to keep in company with the Yantic up to, 
or in the neighborhood of, Littleton Island. 

The language of this order is not exactly in harmony with the language of 
the instructions either to Garlington or Commander Wildes. Garlington's 
instructions merely mentioned that " a ship of the United States Navy, the 
Yantic, will accompany you as far as Littleton Island, rendering you such aid 
as may become necessary and as may be determined by the captain of the ship 
and yourself when on the spot." That is all that Garlington had on the sub- 
ject of the ship's accompanying him. That is, that the Yantic will accom- 
pany the Proteus, and not that the Proteus shall accompany the Yantic. 
The inquiry is why the Proteus did not keep in company with the Yantic. 
Commander Wildes' instructions were : " You will accompany the Proteus, 
if practicable," and so on. Commander Wildes' notification was that 
"You are to act as a tender to the other ship, as the principal ship." It 
seems not to have been contemplated by the Navy Department anywhere, 
or by General Hazen, that this ship should go into the ice or encounter 
any peril. It was not contended, as will appear from the testimony, very 
conclusively, by any of the Navy gentlemen that this ship was in any 
way equipped for Arctic navigation, nor, as Commodore Walker says, did 
they expect her to accompany an Arctic ship. This brings us to the con- 
sideration of th(; relations that these ships sustained to each other, and 
how the instructions were given. I submit that the obligation is with 
the tender to keep with the principal ship, and whilst the latter ship should 
give to the former every facility to this end, her movements are not to be 
controlled absolutely by the tender. Garlington, in his testimony, says : 

I did not consider that there was any necessity of the ships going together from St. John ' s 
to Disko, because the chances were that there would be no obstructions whatever, and 
that inasmuch as there was a certain amount of the stores to be gotton at Disko, and 



'J 24 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

other matters to be attended to, having to delay there anyway, I concluded that it was 
best for me to go directly from St. John's to Disko, getting there ahead of the Yantic, 
which was to come by sail and not by steam, make my preparations, and have everything 
ready by the time that ship got there, and then if Commander Wildes thought it prudent 
to go on with me we would proceed in company as far as the ice barrier, and when we met 
the ice barrier of course the Yantic would have to stop and seek a more circuitous route 
around it, while I, under my instructions, would go into the pack, and force my way 
through. My idea all through was that the Yantic was not to interfere in any way with 
me in my progress north. If she could get along with me, well and good; if not, I was 
to leave her. 

In the arrangement made for the assistance of the Yantic, the Secretary 
of the Navy testifies as to the purposes and objects for which she was re- 
quested. Captain Powell says that he had an interview with the Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and at the Secretary of the Navy's request he telegraphed 
to General Hazen at St. John's to know how far the ship would be re- 
quired to go. He moreover said to the Secretary that he did not under- 
stand she was to be used as a supply ship at all. General Hazen's recol- 
lection is the same on that subject. The object and purpose of the expedi- 
tion, as seems to have been contemplated at the time by General Hazen, is 
given in his testimony before the court. Now all this testimony may be 
considered with respect to the duties with which the ship was charged, 
and does not concern Lieutenant Garlington. The Department had not 
thought it proper to give Garlington any information on this subject. 
What information had he in point of fact? First, Garlington's knowledge 
of the Yantic was from his instructions, which merely inform him that 
" the United States ship Yantic will accompany you," &g. Second, the 
conditions, as he understood in the Signal Office, upon which she was asked. 
Third, the information derived from Commander Wildes and the general 
talk of the officers of the Yantic on the trip from New York to St. 
John's. And fourth, the condition of the ship itself, in respect to its fit- 
ness for Arctic navigation. 

Now, first, as to Lieutenant Garlington's instructions. His instructions 
for getting north were mandatory and positive in every particular. This 
is simply a notification that the ship will accompany him; and one ques- 
tion to be considered, which I shall consider in another connection, is 
whether or not this notification in the last paragraph, which was added on 
the 4th of June by General Hazen on his return from St. John's after the 
instructions had been agreed upon, imposes a duty paramount to that 
which arose under the positive declarations and directions of his orders. 

In respect to the conditions, as he understood them in the office, upon 
which the ship was asked, and the information derived from Commander 
Wildes, I read from page 8 of the record. Garlington's testimony, after 
stating in answer to a question by the court that he had not been fur- 
nished with a copy of Wildes' instructions and had never seen them until 
after the expedition returned, is : 

Q. You did not know what the instructions were ? — A. I did not know anything ex- 
cept that his orders were not to enter the ice, or to place his ship in no position where 
he would run the risk of having to remain a winter in the Arctic regions. That I gath- 
ered from conversation with Commander Wildes and the officers of the ship on the way 
up, and I knew that the letter that had been prepared in the Signal Office had made 
that a condition — that the ship was not expected to go into the ice or to place itself in 
any unusually dangerous position. 

In respect to the fitness of the ship itself for Arctic navigation and the 



PROCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 225 

improbability of the Yantic's getting to Littleton Island he says, in answer 
to the court : 

Q. And with that opinion you were induced to enter into that agreement with the 
commander of the Yantic, because you did not believe she could keep up with you in 
any way? — A. Yes, sir; that was my belief, and that was the belief, as far as I could 
learn, of every officer on board the Yantic. None of them anticipated going into the ice. 
They were not prepared to go into the ice. There was no Arctic clothing on the ship. 
The crew, instead of being decreased, received a draft of men in New York while we 
were getting under way almost. 

By the Recokder: 

Q. The complement of the ship was eighty men? — A. One hundred and thirty-four, 
I think. 

Q. The ordinary complement was eighty men? — A. No, sir; her complement was one 
hundred and thirty-four men, I think. I think she went vrithin two or three men of a 
full complement. 

Commander Wildes himself says the ship had the same equipments as to 
men and officers for that region that she had for the West Indies. There- 
fore Lieutenant Garlington might well have assumed from the knowledge 
he had of the ship and the opinion of her officers that she could not accom- 
pany him. 

You will bear in mind, then, that Lieutenant Garlington's entire knowl- 
edge in respect to the Yantic was derived from these four sources. There 
never was any joint instructions for the co-operation of these two ships, 
though Lieutenant Garlington says he made that request that there might 
not be any conflict between them. General Hazen was asked by the court 
if he did not think it would have been better if such had been the case. 
He thought it would have been, and could not say why it was not done. 
No copy of the Yantic's instructions were furnished either to the Signal 
Office or to Lieutenant Garlington. The commander of the Yantic was 
an officer superior in rank to Garlington and in no wise under his com- 
mand or subject to his order or direction. 

Now I go back to the peculiar phraseology of this order of the Secretary 
of War ; and if the inquiry to determine why the Proteus did not accom- 
pany the Yantic is proper, we must assume that it is so because the obli- 
gation to accompany the Yantic rested upon the Proteus. If Garlington's 
duty then was to accompany the Yantic until she actually got into ice 
that she could not go through, when he found the Yantic could not or 
Avould not accompany him, then it could only have been such upon the 
hypothesis that the notification in his orders that the Yantic would ac- 
company the Proteus, was paramount to any other duty thereby imposed, 
and further that the notification that the Yantic would accompany the 
Proteus meant in effect that the Proteus should accompany the Yantic. 
In other words if it was for him to follow the Yantic until she actually 
struck the ice, if the Yantic would not follow him, then the practical effect 
of it would have been, that until they actually did strike ice which the 
Yantic could not enter, Lieutenant Garlington, the officer charged with 
the expedition upon the principal ship, ^vould have been subject to the 
movements of the Yantic and under the control, and to that extent sub- 
ject to the orders of her commander. This I will assume surely was not 
contemplated. Then it was, owing to the failure on the part of the 
two Departments to furnish these two officers with joint orders and in- 
structions for their guidance, and in compliance with a suggestion in 
Commander Wildes' instructions prepared by Commodore Walker, that 
S. Ex. 100 15 



226 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

they at St. John's entered into an agreement for their government in the 
event of the ships becoming separated. 

I say in the absence of any joint instructions for their guidance these 
officers entered into an agreement between themselves. That agreement 
was made as the result of consultation with Commander Wildes when he 
informed Lieutenant Garlington that he intended to sail from St. John's 
to Disko and not use his coal. Now, may it please the court, let me refer 
in this connection to this agreement. 

[Copy.] 
APPENDIX B. 

MEMOKANDUM OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN LIEUTENANT GAELINGTON, V. 8. ARMY, 
AND COMMANDER WILDES, U. S. NAVY. 

Yantic to proceed to sea with the Proteus and remain in company as long as possible. 
Yantic will proceed to Disko under sail, will leave letters for Lieutenant Garlington at 
Disko and Upernavik. 

Cairns inclosing bottles or tins will be left at Cape York, S. E. Carey Island, or Hak- 
luyt Island, Pandora Harbor, and Littleton Island. Yantic will remain in Pandora 
Harbor not later than August 25, Disko not later than September 20. 

Lieutenant Garlington to leave letters in Disko and Upernavik and records on S. E. 
Carey Island, or Hakluyt Island, Littleton Island, and Pandora Harbor if entered. 

Proteus to endeavor to communicate with Yantic at Pandora Harbor before August 25. 

Should Proteus be lost, push a boat or party south to Yantic. 

Pandora Harbor will be headquarters, but before departure Yantic will run up to Lit- 
tleton Island. 

In my examination of Lieutenant Garlington on the subject of the 
agreement entered into between himself and Commander Wildes, I think 
the impression was left on the mind of the court at the time that I 
was attempting to show that there was some compulsion in the execu- 
tion of that paper on the part of Wildes. That was not my design. 
On the contrary, that agreement was made between these gentlemen 
after divers and sundry conferences on the subject, and with a per- 
fect understanding, and neither of them desires to repudiate it. What 
I did attempt to show was that Commander Wildes had an independent 
command ; that he was an officer of superior rank to Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, and recognized himself as in no degree under Lieutenant Garlington's 
commands or orders ; that he had his own positive instructions what to 
do, which Garlington had never seen. 

Under those conditions he informed Lieutenant Garlington what he in- 
tended to do with his ship; hence It was not an agreement that the ship 
should sail to Disko made by Lieutenant Garlington, it Avas not an agree- 
ment that the ship should go to Upernavik made by Lieutenant Garlington, 
but it was an expression of Commander Wildes' purpose to do such things; 
and under those conditions, which made the early separation inevitable, 
the agreement was entered into. What I want to impress upon the court 
is that. Lieutenant Garlington had nothing whatever to do with the move- 
ments of the Yantic, and he had to make such agreement as was best to 
be made, based upon the contemplated movements of that ship as given to 
him by her commander, although she was his tender. His instructions sim- 
ply said that she was going with him. Then they enter into this agree- 
ment which Commodore Walker says was perfectly proper in his opinion. 
He gives it, and their construction of his order in authorizing them to do 
what they did in respect of this agreement, the sanction of his approval. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PE0T2US COURT OF INQUIRY. 227 

They leave for Disko and they naturally separate^ as one is sailing and the 
othei' steaming. Garliugton gets to Disko on the 7th of July. He stops 
there to take on stores, preparing stores, &c., and is delayed several days. 
He says in his report : 

From the 7tli of July until the 16th I remained in the harbor of Godhavn, the crew 
being engaged in shifting cargo, filling coal bunkers, and generally trimming ship. My 
own men were employed in preparing stores for forming depots as ordered (four of these 
were prepared of two hundred and fifty rations each), moving stores so as to be easily ac- 
cessible in case of having to abandon ship, airing skin clothing, and getting alongside 
stores which had been left here by the expedition of last year. 

When Lieutenant Garlington gets to Disko, notwithstanding the agree- 
ment with Wildes, which contemplated that they should meet somewhere 
else, he waits for the arrival of the Yantic. Wildes gets there on the 12th. 
He informs Garlington that his boilers are in bad condition, which will 
necessarily detain him for some days, and that he will stop at two or three 
places to coal on the way up to Upernavik. If they start together, what 
do these gentlemen natui ally anticipate? That at best they will have to 
separate in a few days. The Yantic would accompany only until they met 
the ice pack ; and the experience of navigation in those waters had been 
without exception the presence of the ice pack in Melville Bay. 

Garlington reasons thus : " My orders in every paragraph urge me to 
push on. Shall I wait here three or four days, or four or five days [I will 
show to the court that in point of fact if he had undertaken to follow the 
Yantic he would not have left Upernavik on his northward course until 
July 31st], or shall I push on, and, in the language of my instructions, let 
nothing hinder my northward course ?" He says in answer to a question 
of the court: 

Q. What was your understanding when you left St. John's; was it that the two 
ships were necessarily to be together after you left there ? — A. No, I expected to see the 
ship at Disko. 

Q. And after leaving Disko that they should not necessarily be together or leave to- 
gether, but that the Yantic should reach Littleton Island at some time in the future if 
it could get there ? — A. If it could get there. 

Q. But you did not expect it necessarily to leave Disko in your company ? — A. Not 
necessarily. I intended to wait at Disko until the arrival of the Yantic there and to 
proceed in company with her if she would go along; but I did not intend to wait any 
length of time at Disko in order to have her accompany me- 

Q. And that was the understanding between you and CaPtain "Wildes ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Then, looking at it from Lieutenant Garlington's standpoint, at that 
time controlled by his instructions, what did he anticipate ? He was, as I 
say, to anticipate ice in Melville Bay after a few days out from Disko. That 
was as far as she could go with him, and in order to get that much ad- 
vantage from her company shall he wait for that time and then go with 
her to the coal fields and Upernavik, or shall he push on, &c ? Now, may 
it please the court, in this connection I want to call your attention to the 
fact, and I beg it may be considered also in connection with the first 
branch of this argument, that if there was one thing in connection with 
his instructions that seemed to have been impressed by General Hazen, the 
Chief Signal Officer, upon Lieutenant Garlington, that seems to have 
been impressed upon the whole situation, it was, that time was of the es- 
sence, that time was one of the leading elements. General Hazen himself, 
on page 190, in reference to Captain Clapp's testimony as to time, says : 

That there was no special time to arrive at Lady Franklin Bay. I wish to say that 
every effort was made and every possible movement attended to to cause the expedi- 



^28 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

tioa to arrive at Littleton Island the very first moment of the season that it was pos- 
sible to get into Smith Sound. That, of course, did not contemplate any specific time, 
but it was to take the chances, the first opportunities that offered of getting in there. 

General Hazen, as he testifies, thought it wise even to withhold from 
the Secretary of the Navy the view that he had in contemplation of mak- 
ing the Yantic a supply-ship — a store-ship. Secretary Chandler testifies, 
on page 116 of the record, in reply to an interrogatory of the court : 

I either asked General Hazen the question whether he did not desire the Yantic to 
carry some outfit and additional supplies, or referred to the fact that he did not de- 
sire it, and his reply was that they would not require anything of that kind except 
that the Yantic shovild go well fitted to take care of herself and her own officers and 
crew, and to he at hand in case of an emergencJ^ 

General Hazen, on page 124, says : 

It seems to be proper that I should say something as to the reason why there was 
no request made to the Navy Department to put on extra su^jplies. Time was becom- 
ing an element of the greatest importance, and I unshed 1o do nothing that should cause any 
delay. Being satisfied that the Yantic would take such ample provisions of her own 
stores as to do for all hands, including Mr. Greely's party in case of an emergency, I 
preferred to I'est on that rather than make any request or suggestion that hy any possi- 
bility could consume time ; that is, / considered time more important than any further prep- 
aration. 

And as before stated, in respect to the landing of stores at Littleton Island, 
General Hazen considered one of the elements in that connection to be time. 
Lieutenant Caziarc attributes all the blunders that were made by the clerks 
in the office (putting papers in the wrong places, <fec.), to the hurry of the 
moment. In the hurry and flurry of getting up these instructions for this 
important expedition time is so much the essence that accuracy and truth 
become secondary, and we have the confusion and error that result. Again 
and again all the way through this is impressed upon Garliugton. Is it 
possible, then, that the officer charged with this duty under these circum- 
stances could be properly criticized for at least undertaking to respond in 
some degree to the spirit of his instructions in not frittering away his 
time ! 

Now, may it please the court, I have not considered heretofore at length 
the instructions that were given to Lieutenant Garlington, nor do I pro- 
pose to do so now, but merely to call your attention to what I am satisfied 
you have observed again and again, and that is that, if it were possible by 
language to make one thought the leading and controlling one in that paper, 
it is accomplished by the language chosen to impress upon Garlington the 
urgency and importance of permitting nothing to delay him in his north- 
ward course. 

The first line of his instructions reads : 

Sir: You are aware of the necessity of reaching Lieut. A. W. Greely and his party 
■xrith the expedition of this year. 

The first line of the second paragraph reads : 

For these and other reasons which will occur to you, no effort must he spared to push 
the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay. 

The first line of the third paragraph reads : 

In the event of being obstructed by ice in Smitl^ Sound or Kennedy Channel, you 
are advised to try to find a passage, &c. 

The first line of the fourth paragraph reads : 

Should the vessel be unable to get through the ice to Lady Franklin Btiy or to reach, 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 229 

The first line of the fifth paragraph reads : 

If it should become clearly ajyparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through, you 
will, &c. 

Every mandatory paragraph in his instructions begins with a recital that 
the one paramount duty is to " push the vessel through to Lady Franklin 
Bay," and every other duty imposed in each paragraph is predicated upon 
the failure to accomplish this. 

This duty is first and above all, and " it must become clearly apparent 
that the vessel cannot be pushed through " before other duties and powers 
arise under the terms and provisions of his instructions. 

He turns to the last paragraph but one in his instructions, and there he 
finds the same thought repeated almost in the form of an appeal. 

I believe and expect that you vs^ill zealously endeavor to effect the object of the ex- 
pedition, which is to succeed in relieving your comrades, since upon your efforts their 
lives may depend, and you cannot overestimate the gravity of the work intrusted 
to your charge. 

He turns again to the first paragraph of his instructions and there he is 
told that— 

This necessity cannot be overestimated, as Lieutenant Greely's supplies will be ex- 
hausted during the coming fall, and unless the relief ship can reach him he will be 
forced, with his party, to retreat southward by land before the winter sets in. 

The truth seems not to have presented a situation sufficiently critical, 
and the erroneous statement "that Greely's supplies will be exhausted 
during the coming fall," is inserted, it would appear, to impress upon Gar- 
lington to a greater extent than the facts justified the importance of reliev- 
ing his comrades at the earliest moment. 

Has language ceased to have meaning, that the reputation of an officer 
who acts under orders so explicit as these is to be thus imperiled ! 

Now, if there was one suggestion that Lieutenant Garlington got from 
" Inclosure 4," and that was in perfect harmony with his instructions, it was, 
"that nothing in the northward movement should be allowed to retard the 
progress of the Proteus," but that he should " take advantage of every 
lead to get up to Lady Franklin Bay." The last line in the very paper 
that was to be made the basis of instructions for the government of the 
Yantic, as if to preclude the conclusion that this paper might be construed 
as hindering the Proteus in her course, that she might have the Yantic's 
company, is that nothing shall retard the northward course of the Proteus. 

Hazen himself candidly says in regard to Garlington's question : 

Q. Was I not correct in my conclusion that I was to allow the movements of the 
Yantic to interfere in no way with my progress to the northward ? — A. You were 
specially directed by me not to permit the Yantic to hinder your movements to the 
northward ; if it appeared that she could uot proceed with you, you were to go on, 
and do the best you could without her. 

This indeed seems conclusive. 

But let us now consider it from the stand-point of the choice of a diifer- 
ent course on the part of Garlington, than that which he actually adopted. 

Suppose Lieutenant Garlington had assumed that the paramount duty 
imposed upon him under his orders was to follow the Yantic, and not to 
push ahead at all hazards if the Yantic couldn't or wouldn't proceed with 
him, what would have been the result ? And would there have been 
any justification for his conduct if disaster had resulted by reason of such 



230 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

action? He is informed at Disco by the commander of the Yantic that 
he will not be ready to leave until a certain time, and then that he was 
going to two or three places for coal, as detailed on page 176 of the ap- 
pendix, being the report of Commander Wildes to Commodore Walker of 
the part the Yantic took in this expedition. Then, that he was going to 
Upernavik. Lieutenant Garlington arrived on the 7th of July at Disco. 
The Yantic arrived on the 12th. Lieutenant Garlington remained from 
the 7th to the 16th, and he was consequently there four days with the 
Yantic. The commander of the Yantic says in his report : 

I^Repairs on tlie boiler detained me liere sis (6) days, when tlie brig Peru arrived 
and the inspector gave me 15 tons of coal from her. After waiting two days longer 
for fog and thick weather to clear, I sailed on the 21st for Kittenbank, Governor 
Khuntsen having promised me twenty (20) tons of coal. 

I arrived there early in the morning, and by night had taken most of it in, but the 
weather becoming bad and the anchorage being very insecure I was obliged to shift 
my berth. Having partially cleared next morning I finished coaling, and at 11 a. m. 
sailed for the Kudlisit coal mine, which was reached at 6 p. m. The weather was 
thick and rainy and land marks could not be seen, audi only recognized the place by 
seeing the tent of our Eskimo laborers sent ahead to get the coal out. 

On landing I found that they had done nothing and were in a state of starvation, 
so next morning, 25th, I sent our men ashore, and up to 4 p. m. of the 26th had taken 
on board about thirty tons. The coal is very light and I did not stop to weigh it, but 
the decks were full, and I dared heap up no more. 

At 6 p. m.I sailed for Upernavik, having clear, fine weather. Off Ominak Fiord 
swung ship for compass deviations, surrounded by hundreds of bergs. Reached Uper- 
navik at 10 p. m. July 27th, and remained until noon July 31st, waiting for thick 
foggy weather to clear. 

Therefore the Yantic was from the 12th to the 31st of July at and 
between Disco and Upernavik. She was a day or two between those 
places, but from the 12th to the 31st she was almost continuously in port. 
Garlington arrived on the 7th. If he had followed her around from Disco 
to Upernavik, being able to go that distance in a very short time, after 
lying with her first at Disco until she was ready to go, then following 
her around to the coal mines, then going to Upernavik and lying some 
six or eight days with her there, it would have been twenty-four days 
between his arrival at Disco and his departure from Upernavik, and most 
of the time lying in port waiting for the Yantic. 

If Lieutenant Garlington had followed the Yantic around, losing twenty 
days or more, when he had been impressed by General Hazen, and by 
his orders and iustructions, and by all the circumstances of the case, to per- 
mit nothing to hinder his northward movement, would there have been any 
justification for such a course, had disaster resulted, consequent upon such 
conduct ? 

The criticism upon Garlington is that the Proteus did not keep com- 
pany with the Yantic. On the 2d of November the Secretary of the 
Navy, writing to Commander Wildes, says : 

Navy Department, 
Washington, November 2nd, 1883. 
Sir: The receipt of your letter of October 16th is acknowledged. In the present 
aspect of the case the Department condemns (1) the agreement inclosed in your let- 
ter of June 25th, between Lieutenant Garlington and yourself, contemplating the 
separation of the Yantic and the Proteus until August 25th; (2) your failure to ac- 
company the Proteus from Disco Island after you had there rejoined her; (3) your 
unnecessary visit to Upernavik on July 25th, to inquire of the Danish authorities 
how the ice was probably moving between yourself and the Proteus, the six days 
of your delay at which point would have brought you to Littleton Island before the 
party of the Proteus went south ; and (4) your failure, when you found at Littleton 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 231 

Island that the demoralized party of the Proteus had gone south in search of the 
Swedish steamer Soiia, at Cape York, to land materials for a habitation, clothing, 
and some food for the forgotten Greely party. 
What action, if any, will be taken by the Department has not yet been determined . 
Very respectfjlly, 

WM. E. CHANDLER, 
I Secretary of the Navy. 

Commander Frank Wildes, U. S. N., 

Commanding TJ. S. S. Yantic, Navy- Yard, Neiv YorTc. 

Now, we have here the Secretary of the Navy criticizing Commander 
Wildes for not accompanying the Proteus when he had rejoined her at 
Disco ; for his unnecessary visit to Upernavik, and for his delay at that 
point, although his orders were most liberal. The criticism upon Garling- 
ton by the Secretary of War is that, the Proteus did not sail around after 
the Yantic, in her meanderings, and thus fritter away twenty-four days that 
were so precious in the estimation of his superiors for accomplishing the 
purpose of the expedition — to do the very thing for which Wildes was 
criticised. But further than that, the uncertainty of Arctic navigation 
must be taken into consideration. Notwithstanding the agreement made 
with Commander Wildes that he would not remain at Littleton Island 
later than August 25, such were the dangers, in his opinion, that he felt 
justified in leaving Upernavik before the 24th of August, because it was 
not safe for him to keep his ship there, although Lieutenant Garlington and 
his party had not arrived, and he knew that they were out in open boats 
between Littleton Island and Upernavik. Surely it must have been, in the 
opinion of that officer, a very clear and patent duty which would have in- 
duced him under those circumstances to leave Upernavik, and return with- 
out any news from Garlington and his party. 

The record found at Littleton Island informed him that the Proteus had 
been lost, and that they were in open boats on an Arctic ocean, and yet 
such was the condition as he found them at Upernavik, that he felt it his 
duty for the safety of his ship to get away at once. He could not remain 
there with safety, and left before the 24th of August and before either 
Lieutenants Garlington or Colwell had arrived. One other consideration 
as to time as an element. Captain Clapp, on page 169, with regard to 
Greely's supplies, says : 

Q. Was it the intention in putting that in his instructions to impress upon Lieu- 
tenant Garlington the absolute necessity of his getting up to Lady Franklin Bay as 
speedily as possible ? — A. I do not recollect that the question of his arriving at an 
early period in the season was considered. It was deemed important that the reliev- 
ing vessel should reach Lieutenant Greely during thesummer of this year, but so that 
might be done before the close of navigation up there, if navigation is open there at 
any time, I think that was deemed sufficient. Another reason for desiring to push the 
relief party through was the known anticipation of Lieutenant Greely and his peo- 
ple that such a party would be sent and get through. This was made all the more 
urgent by reason of the failure of the previous year. 

Now, Lieutenant Garlington had not only instructions to get through to 
Greely, but his instructions were if possible to get back that year. That had 
been the condition imposed by the act of Congress granting the appropria- 
tion. With the exception of the Proteus in the expedition of 1881, which 
by every one is spoken of as an exceptional trip, it is a part of history that 
no ship ever got into Smith's Sound and got out the same season. Gar- 
lington had to go to Lady Franklin Bay, if it were possible to do so, and 



232 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

he had to get back the same season before navigation closed. Now, let us 
see what Captain Clapp says upon this subject : 

Q. From your reading and examination of this subject generally, what is your 
opinion as to the practicability of retreating in latitude 82 as late as September 
Ist ? — A. I do not think it practicable. The retreat by sledges, if made at all, can 
only be made in the spring of the year. 

Q. Spring or summer ? — A. I was alluding to retreat by sledges. Of course it may 
be done by water any time the water is open. 

Q. Do you think retreating by boats, under the conditions prevailing in Arctic 
regions, practicable ? — A. I should not think it practicable. The young ice would by 
that time have prevented a vessel from working through, unless under very excep- 
tional circumstances, The ice by that time would have been usually four or six 
inches in thickness. 

Lieutenant Garlington, on the 23d of July, off Cape Sabine, had to 
go up to Lady Franklin Bay, load stores, and get back, if possible, the 
same season. According to the testimony here, and according, I believe, 
to the generally accepted history of Arctic navigation, and the conditions 
existing in those regions, it would have been impossible to have gotten 
out with his ship from Lady Franklin Bay after the 1st of September. 
Now, how long would it have taken him to have arrived there, leaving 
out of account the remarkable passage of the Proteus, in 1881, when she 
did not encounter any ice at all until within 10 or 15 miles of Discov- 
ery Harbor ? Take the history of other ships. Sir George Nares, with 
the two ships, Discovery and Alert, went up to Lady Franklin Bay, but 
was unable to get back the same season and had to winter there. It took 
him twenty-five days to go up, and twenty-five days to get back ; there- 
fore, you have this element in addition to what I have before referred to 
as giving emphasis to the fact that " the officer in charge of the expedition 
should not lose any time in getting to Discovery Harbor if he should at 
all contemplate the probability, or cherish the hope, of returning the same 
season." 

In this connection there is but one other piece of testimony to which I 
would wish particularly to direct your attention. Commodore Walker 
testified that he was the officer that had these matters in charge in the 
Navy Department, and in point of fact prepared the instructions under 
which the Yantic was navigated. 

On page 104 he says, in answer to question by the court : 

Q. In the instructions it was stated that the vessels should accompany each other. 
To what extent did you suppose that was to be construed ? — A. I did not myself sup- 
pose that they would accompany each other. I supposed it would be practicable for 
the Proteus to go on where it would not be for the Yantic, and that they would soon 
separate for that reason. The Proteus was built for going into the ice and the Yantic 
was not. 

Q. Then your expectations were that the Proteus would get to Littleton Island 
far ahead of the Yantic? — A. Oh, yes; that was my opinion. 

And then, on page 106, with respect to the agreement between Wildes 
and Garlington, he further says : 

Q. Now, under the instructions, as you remember them, do you think there was any 
impropriety in those two gentlemen entering into that agreement in the prosecution 
of the work ? — A. I think not. 

Q. You think that was proper under the circumstances? — A. I think that that was 
perfectly proper. 

I submit, in behalf of Lieutenant Garlington, that he strictly, conscien- 
tiously, with zeal and fidelity, carried out the instructions and orders that 
were given him. General Hazen, who was the author of the instructions, 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 233 

does Garlington the credit to say that he was explicit in his orders that 
he should not be detained by the Yantic. Therefore, I submit to the 
court that Lieutenant Garlington's conduct, under the circumstances and 
the conditions as he knew them to exist, was perfectly proper, and if he had 
failed to act as he did, and had frittered away his days following the Yantic, 
his tender, he would have responded without any proper defense or justi- 
fication, to the charge made for the loss of his ship, or for the failure of 
the expedition. Nothing is more uncertain or more treacherous than Arctic 
navigation, and what you see to-day at this hour may be entirely changed 
an hour hence, therefore, the wisdom of the orders that "You shall take 
advantage of every lead to push your ship forward." It was not contem- 
plated that he would find open water, and he was expected to be on hand 
at the earliest possible moment to take advantage of any lead to work his 
ship through. "With the risks that accompany such navigation, if damage 
or loss result it must be attributed to the perils of Arctic navigation and 
the treachery of Arctic water and Arctic ice and wind and tide, unless it 
can be brought home that there was a violation of orders on the part of 
the officer charged with the conduct of such expedition, or that there was 
such an unwise exercise of the discretion reposed in him as to charge him 
with the responsibility of the failure. 

I now come, may it please the court, to the consideration of the third 
and last branch of the investigation to which I shall address myself. 

At this point the court took a recess for fifteen minutes, and upon reas- 
sembling Mr. Kent resumed as follows :) 

May it please the court, 

Up to the present time I have been considering Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's conduct in relation exclusively to his orders and instructions. A 
contingency, however, not contemplated in his orders and instructions 
occurred, to wit, the loss of the ship ; and I now come to consider the 
propriety of his conduct in coming directly south from Littleton Island 
after the loss of the Proteus. In placing before you so much of the 
testimony as may be pertinent to this branch of the investigation, I shall 
make very little comment upon it. It is a matter of judgment and opin- 
ion to be formed by the court upon Garlington's conduct upon a con- 
dition and state of facts that he found to exist at a certain time, which 
called for the exercise of judgment, discretion, and wisdom on the part 
of this officer, independent of any instructions and orders for his 
guidance. The question is, with the light before him, was the judgment 
that he formed and the course that he adopted then, such as would com- 
mend itself to the wise exercise of his powers ? The results are not to be 
taken into the consideration. These he could not foresee. I feel naturally 
incapable of forming any opinion that would be worth anything on a sub- 
ject so foreign to my manner of thought, and therefore I can do little more 
in aid of the court than to collect, as I have done, the testimony that I 
think is pertinent to the situation existing at that time as controlling and 
governing his conduct in coming directly south from Littleton Island after 
the loss of his ship. Lieutenant Garlington finds himself on the evening 
of the 23d of July in a situation that is more graphically and accurately de- 
scribed by this photograph [exhibiting same] than could be by any lan- 
guage at my disposal. Dependent upon himself and his own resources for 
his own safety and that of his men, and for any relief that he might possibly 



234 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

give to Greely, I submit to the court that at that time, if what we have 
heard testified in respect of Greely 's stores be accurate, Lieutenant Garling- 
ton on an ice-float with his party was in far more peril than Greely in his 
house at Discovery Harbor, with the plentiful supplies and stores accred- 
ited to him. At any rate, the only possibility under which he could ren- 
der any service to Greely was to communicate directly with the Yantic. 
This he at once attempted to do. Lieutenant Colwell puts it well when 
he says that at once they all thought the only thing that could be done was 
to put themselves in communication with the Yantic, or, in his language, 
if they failed to meet her, they would have to take their chances of getting 
to the Danish settlements by themselves. Not only was he acting with a 
view to the relief to be given Greely, but also considering at the same time 
the safety of his own party. Garlington, in his report in connection with 
this subject, says : 

The prime object of the expedition was now defeated ; what was the best course to 
follow to be able to accomplish something looking to the relief of Greely was the great 
problem to be solved. To have gone north in small boats was altogether impossible, 
and therefore out of the question, and even had it been feasible would have been use- 
less under the circumstances. If the Yantic should reach Littleton Island or Pandora 
Harbor the question would become one of easy solution. I could get from her all the 
stores she could spare, including clothing, coal, and canvas, establish a station at 
Life-boat Cove, remain there with two or three men, and send the rest of the party 
and crew of the Proteus to St. John's. A sealer could then have been secured and 
sent north. But could she reach Littleton Island? This was the i)oint I had to set- 
tle in my mind from my knowledge of the condition of the ice as I found it on my 
way north from Disko Island, taken in connection with Commander Wildes' instruc- 
tions as far as I knew them. The Yantic crew was large, about one hundred and forty 
men, had a limited supply of provisions, and was not at all adapted to contend 
against the ice. It had taken the Proteus, especially built for ice navigation, three 
days to force her way through the ice in Melville Bay. The commander of the Yan- 
tic, as far as I was informed, had specific orders not to go into the ice, or to place his 
ship in any position which would risk having to remain in those regions during the 
winter. 

Again, in his supplemental report, he says : 

After the Proteus was lost I determined to communicate with the Yantic as soon as it 
was possible to do so, to get from her all the supplies that could be spared and establish 
a depot at Life-boat Cove. I intended to remain there with a small party, while the 
Yantic could proceed to St. John's, report the disaster, and endeavor to secure a vessel 
suitable for ice navigation and come north with additional supplies. If anything was 
to be done this season looking to the relief of Lieutenant Greely, it was of the greatest 
importance to communicate with the Yantic at once. When the Proteus encountered the 
pack in Melville Bay no one on board that vessel thought the Yantic would cross the 
bay. This opinion was formed from the known intention of the commander of the Yan- 
tic not to put his vessel into the ice. 

The Proteus had run into the "middle pack" about one hundred miles northwest 
of Upernavik, and it was very nearly four days from that time until she arrived off 
Cape York. The ice in the bight of Melville Bay had not broken this season, and if 
the ' ' middle pack ' ' should move off to the westward, leaving a passage around the 
edge of the fast ice, this ice was still to break up, and would form a pack which 
would prove a barrier to the Yantic. As it turned out, to every one's surprise, the 
Yantic saw no ice in Melville Bay, and had an unobstructed passage to Littleton 
Island. 

If I had remained a fortnight at Littleton Island for the chance of the Yantic' s 
arrival, my supplies would have been reduced to a dangerously small margin. If she 
did not arrive, I would have had to commence my retreat during a rapidly closing 
season, with inadequate provisions. It would probably have been necessary to force 
our way through much young ice, which at even that date formed one-quarter of an 
inch thick during calm nights. 

This would have delayed the progress of the boats, and prevented communication 
of the disaster to the Yantic in time that she might render any assistance to Lieu- 
tenant Greely, if it did not prevent me entirely from reaching the Danish settlements 
this season, and the sending of the news of the disaster home this year. If I had re- 
mained in that region until it was too late to reach the Danish settlements, it would 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 235 

have been necessary to draw on the supplies already deposited for Lieutenant Greely, 
and if he should arrive he would find his own supplies diminished and the addition 
to his ;^arty of another body of men no better off than his own party. If I started 
at once, I would secure the arrival of my party at the Danish settlements before the 
close of the season. If the Yantic succeeded in crossing Melville Bay, there was 
nothing to prevent her reaching Littleton Island, the Proteus having encountered no ice 
north of Carey Islands until she ran into the ice-fields of Smith Sound, and that ice had 
not yet moved out to obstruct the channel. I therefore reasoned that she would at 
once, after finding my record on Littleton Island, proceed along the coast, following my 
indicated line of retreat, steaming in a day the distance it would take me a week to 
cover. If she should miss my boats in thick weather, I thought she would endeaver to ' 
communicate with me at Cape York, which was my stated objective point. It would 
then still be early enough to carry out my original plan of remaining at Life-boat Cove 
with supplies from the Yantic, while that vessel proceeded to St. John's with the news 
of the wreck. 

I left Littleton Island on the 26th of July, and on the 7th August had made but one 
hundred and thirty miles. 

I reached Cape York on 10th August, and was confirmed in my belief that the Yantic 
had not crossed Melville Bay. The natives at Cape York had not seen any vessel pass to 
the northward and westward lately, and they knew nothing of the Swedish steamer 
Sofia, which was to have come there for a series of scientific observations. This fact 
convinced me that the Sofia had not been able to get through the Melville Bay pack, and 
if she had not I thought the Yantic most certainly had not. 

And, again, in the same supplemental report, he says : 

4th. "Why you started south with forty days' supply, in place of leaving a large 
portion of them for Lieutenant Greely, when the country was full of game, seals, 
walrus, and fish, and the party well supplied with means for its capture, which was an 
ample source of food ? ' ' 

Answer. The exact amount of supplies I had for my party of fifteen men (after- 
ward^ increased by one man) when I left Cape Sabine was as follows: 

Six hundred pounds of hard bread in bags, a great deal of which got wet and 
soured and had to be thrown away ; three hundred pounds of bacon, eighty pounds 
of tea, one-half barrel of sugar, one hundred and forty pounds of pemmican, from last 
year's stores, about half of which was spoiled; about four hundred pounds of cafaned 
meats, vegetables, and fruits, and one-half barrel of alcohol. 

This was a smaller quantity of food than was taken by any party retreating from 
that region. I could not foretell the exact length of time necessary to make our 
journey. Dr. Kane retreated from a short distance north of Littleton island to Uper- 
navik, taking with him all the provisions he could carry in his three boats. It took 
him eighty-four days to make the journey. I made the distance from Littleton island 
to Upernavik in twenty-nine days. 

The Polaris people started south with supplies for two mouths and a half, but 
M-ere picked up a short distance from Cape York by a whaler, after having been in 
their boats twenty-three days. At that time of the year I could not expect to meet 
a whaler, for they only visit the vicinity of Cape York in the early season on their 
way to the whaling grounds of Pond's Inlet and Jones Sound, where they remain until 
September, when they are able to cross Davis' Strait, for the southward, homeward 
bound. 

In my answer to your first question I have stated why it would have been impos- 
sible for me to have killed sufiflcient game to subsist my party and at the same time 
make rapid progress to the southward. I saw no fish in that region, and if I had, I had 
no means of catching them. If I had left any of my small stock of provisions at Lit- 
tleton Island I would have seriously endangered the safety of my men to no purpose. 
A8 it was, the short rations oj sometimes one and never more than two meals a day iegan to 
tell heavily upon them hy the time I reached Upernavik. 

After leaving Cape York I saw no game, except two or three seals, until I reached 
the islands about Tessuisak. 

In passing upon the propriety and wisdom of another's judgment it is 
very difficult to leave out of consideration the consequences that flow from 
it, and yet, it is just, to consider only those things that have occurred or 
are present at thetime the judgment is formed. The experiences of the past 
and present, and not the undisclosed future, furnished the material upon 
which Garlington's judgment was founded. We all know now that the 
Yantic did arrive at Littleton Island, and I will venture to say that nine- 



236 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. ' 

teen-twentieths of the opinions formed and criticisms made npon his course 
have been colored by the knowledge of that fact. On the 23d of Jnly 
Garlingtou's course had to be determined, not upon this prophetic informa- 
tion, but upon the probabilities of the Yantic's reaching Littleton Island. 
Suppose she had never arrived there, and the probabilities were, as will ap- 
pear from the history of Arctic navigation, that she never would — suppose 
he had waited and she had not come — in a word, the consequences would 
simply have he^n fatal. His supplies of provisions were dangerously small : 
and, as it was, before he got to Upernavik he says that his men lived some- 
times on two rations and then down to one a day. He then had to de- 
termine what action he would take, based upon the experience of Arctic 
navigation, his own experience in Melville Bay, and the opinions expressed 
by the commander of the Yantic, as to his entering the ice or putting his 
ship in peril. ]N*otwithstanding the fact that the Yantic did get to Little- 
ton Island, Commander Wildes testifies, that he had always thought that 
under any circumstances, or instructions, his getting there was extremely 
problematical. I do not think that I overstate the force of his testimony when 
I say that he himself never expected to get there, though as a zealous and 
efficient officer he intended to make every effi^rt to do so. Lieutenant Gar- 
lington had doubtless been impressed by the commander of the Yantic 
with his views on that subject, and these were taken into consideration 
when he determined whether or not he ought to take the risk of remaining 
there. The chances were that if she got north of Melville Bay, being in 
open water, they would meet her going down. Garlington was about ten 
days going 170 miles from Littleton Island. But when they passed each 
other Commander Wildes was between 20 and 30 miles away from shore, 
driven off by the ice. Therefore they failed to meet. But the probabili- 
ties were all that they would meet. Col well said, in his request to go di- 
rectly south, " I thought we should meet the Yantic at Upernavik," and 
this was the reason, as he says, why they determined to go soutli. He 
never supposed that she would get through Melville Bay, but there was 
the chance, and if she did get through they would meet her, and if she did 
not get through their own safety depended upon getting away at once, be- 
cause the young ice was already forming, and in Melville Bay was some 
obstruction. 

Garlington says : 

That while I was confident that he would go to Littleton Island, if he deemed it 
prudent and consistent with the safety of his vessel and crew, I did not believe he 
would succeed in getting through Melville Bay, where we had met so much ice. 
But I also thought if the conditions had changed in Melville Bay in the mean time, 
and if the Yantic should cross and reach Littleton Island, she would find my record, 
know of the disaster, and easily follow us along the coast and pick us up very soon, 
if she did not sight us on her way north. It was my honest opinion that the Yantic 
would not cross Melville Bay. I therefore determined to cross Smith's Sound at the 
first favorable opportunity, and to proceed to the southward as rapidly as possible for 
the purpose of opening communication. There was a possibility of meeting relief at 
Cape York, in the Swedish steamer Sofia. I considered the chances of her crossing 
Melville Bay more favorable than those of the Yantic, as she was smaller, properly 
equipped, and commanded by a master of extensive Arctic experience. 

In this connection it may be proper to call attention to Commander 
Wildes' letter of the 16th of October to the Secretary of the Navy ; the 
history that he gives of the navigation in Melville Bay. He says : 

The body of water known as Mellville Bay is so little understood generally that a 
short description may not be out of place here. From Cape Shackleton, which may 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 237 

be regarded as the southern point, the coast trends northerly 150 miles to Cape Walker, 
thence westerly 150 miles to Cape Dudley Digges. The coast line is one vast glacier, 
the rocky headlands only projecting, which constantly discharges multitudes of ice- 
bergs, many of enormous size. These, drifting to the westward and grounding in the 
shoal water south of Cape York, frequently hang up for a whole season the vast fields 
of ice which accumulate during the winter. When not so hung up by bergs the 
''main" or "middle" pack, which is out of the influence of the current from Smith's 
Sound to Davis' Straits, drifts back and forth with the prevailing winds, at times 
leaving open water between it and the fast ice and again closing. 

The North Star was caught in August, 1849, and luckily broke out after "hair- 
breadth escapes" on the twenty-fifth of September, and succeeded in getting into 
Wolstenholm Sound, where she wintered. The first Grinnell expedition, in 1855, was 
caught in the pack early in July and not released until August 15. In 1857 the Fox 
was caught south of Cape York and drifted all winter in the pack. In 1875 the Alert 
and Discovery met the pack just outside the Brown Islands, near Upernavik and were 
thirty-four hours pressing their way through. On the twenty-second of July, 1876, 
the Pandora was beset for eight days in the pack and only succeeded by great exer- 
tions in freeing herself, having been in imminent danger of being crushed. Many 
whale ships have been lost in this bay. During one year the governor of Upernavik 
states that he had 200 men thrown on his bounty whose ships had been crushed in the 
ice. (See proceedings U. S. Naval Institute, December 11, 1873.) 

Commander Markham, second in command of the Alert, iin Arctic navigator of no 
mean repute, says: ' The dangers connected with a passage through Mellville Bay 
are now so well known to all who have taken any interest in Arctic affairs, or who 
have devoted any time to the perusal of Arctic literature, that it is needless for me , 
either to explain or dwell upon them at any length. Many a well-equipped ship has 
been caught in the fatal embrace of this bay. What tales of woe and disaster could 
its icy waters unfold," &c. 

Cai)tain G. S. Nares, commanding the British polar expedition of 1875-76, having 
been thirty -four hours in the middle pack, says: "Although we made so successful a 
voyage through a locality justly dreaded by experienced ice navigators, the conclu- 
sion must not be hastily arrived at that a similar passage can always be commanded. 
Had a strong breeze set in Avhile we were among the ice we should laave been beset in 
the i)Shck, and, at the very least, delayed several days." 

This information respecting the history of navigation through Melville 
Bay was a part of the material upon which Garlington, situated as he 
was, had to make up his judgment at that time, and I refer to it in that 
connection. 

Now, 1 shall not go over the testimony at all closely, but I beg to refer 
the court particularly to the testimony of* Lieutenant Col well, who bears 
in the service a reputation for ability and skill, to which is added great 
zeal and love for his profession. He testifies as to the conduct of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington and his party in saving stores, and on the subject of the 
Yantic so getting through Melville Bay testifies as follows : 

Q. Therefore you had formed the opinion at the time of the wreck of the Proteus 
that Captain Wildes would not enter that ice? — A. That he would not enter it. 

Q. That he could not cross Melville Bay ? — A. That he would not do it. 

O. That he ought not, under his instructions ? — A. That he ought not, under his iu- 
instructions as I understood them. 

Q. Do you think the Yantic could have accompanied you through that ice? — A. No, 
sir ; it could not have accompanied us. 

Q. Do you think that the Yantic could have passed through the ice in Melville 
Bay, through which you passed, with safety to herself? — A. It would have been pos- 
sible, but it would have been inadvisable, fitted as the Yantic was and with her crew, 
with the possibility of being beset in the ice or caught in it for the winter. 

Q. You think it would have been of unusual danger to a naval vessel ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Had the Yantic any special equipment for service in the Arctic regions ? — A. 
Her battery was taken off, all her ordnance stores were landed, and she was sheathed 
from the bow to a little abaft of foremast with oak j)lankiug spiked on the outside of 
her copper. 

Q. To what thickness ? — A. About 3 inches abreast of the foremast. It was thicker 
right on the bow, probably 6 inches at the cut-water. 

Q. You I'ead Lieutenant Garliugton's instructions on your way up? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And were familiar with those instructions? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And with Lieutenant Greely's letter of advice as to what should be done with a 
view to his safety ? — A. Yes, sir. 



238 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Q. Did you have any conversation with Lieutenant Garlington with reference to 
this " Inclosure No. 4," as it is called ? — A. Not until after we got hack to St. John's. 
Q, Did you know of its existence ? — A. No, sir. 

Speaking further as to the conclusion arrived at : 

Q. And you think that under all the circumstances of the case you two gentlemen 
did the best that could he done ? — A. According to our knowledge we did the best we 
could do. 

Q. There was no difference of opinion between you as to coming down after the 
wreck ? — A. No, sir. 

Q. ExceiJt as to the point at which you should separate 1 — A. Yes, sir. 

The only testimony to the contrary as to the experience of ships in get- 
ting through Melville Bay is that of General Hazen, who says, on page 
100: 

Q. Did any of the naval authorities with whom you consulted at any time express 
any doubt that the Yantic could reach Littleton Island ? — A. I do not remember that 
they did. There were a great many doubts expressed about it, but whether they 
were expressed at these interviews with the Secretary of the Navy or Commodore 
Walker I do not remember. But I was left with the impression that there was a good 
deal of doubt in their minds as to her getting there. 

Q. As to her reaching Littleton Island ? — A. As to her reaching Littleton Island. 

Q. Did you have any doubt yourself ? — A. I had none. 

Q. None at all ? — A. Yes, I had the same doubt that I would have of any ship on a 
perilous expedition, but my experiences had led me to believe that those preconceived 
difficulties usually passed away upon reaching them, and I had scarcely a doubt but 
with proper effort the Yantic could get through. 

Q. And therefore you were perfectly willing to risk the safety of the expedition 
upon the Yantic reaching Littleton Island ? — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And remain there as a base ? — A. And remain there as abase. I considered that 
that would add largely to the chance of the expedition being a success. 

Pardon me if I shall protest against having Garlington's conduct judged 
by the standard of General Hazen's knowledge of Arctic navigation. 

This is the only testimony that I have been able to find in the record- 
that underrates the difficulties to be expected in navigation through Mel- 
ville Bay, and, therefore, without any comment, I submit it. I beg to 
refer to the testimony of Commander Wildes speaking of packs of ice in 
Melville Bay : 

Q. It is the history of navigation of those waters that those packs are to be ex- 
pected there ? — A. They nearly always have been met there. There is a choice of 
passages across Melville Bay — the northern, middle, and southern passages, depend- 
ing on the state of the winds. 

Q. But none of them can be counted upon with any certainty to be free from ice? — 
A. No, sir ; you cannot count on crossing Melville Bay until you get across. 

Q. The nature of your instructions then rendered it very problematic whether yon 
could reach Littleton Island ? — A. It did ; problematic in any case, with any instruc- 
tion. 

Then, again, as to his ship's equipment — 

A. The ship had a sheathing of oak plank extending from her water-line to about 
7 feet below. The oak plank was about 2^ inches thick, being a little thicker about 
the cut-water. That is all the protection she had. She had no more equipment for 
offlcers and crew for that region than she had to go to the West Indies. 

Q. You regard her as entirely unfitted for a winter in the Arctic regions? — A. En- 
tirely. 

Q. Do you consider that your delay at Upernavik on your passage north materially 
affected the course of events to the prejudice of the object of the expedition? — A. I 
do not. 

He then gives the experience of the Pandora and the Alert and other 
ships, which I will not go into, and testifies as follows : 

Q. When you. left St. John's had you any idea that you would be able to get up to 
Littleton Island? — A. I thought it hardly probable, but I meant to make atrial of it. 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PEOTEUS COUET OF INQUIEY. 239 

Q. In your opinion, from all the information that you had upon the subject, not 
having been up there before, did you think the chances were unfavorable to your 
getting up there ? — A. Very much in favor of my not getting up. 

Q. And that was the idea, as I understand from others, that prevailed among the 
officers of your ship ? — A. I will not undertake to say in the way of testimony what 
they thought. 

Q. Did you consider that the Yantic was a proper ship to have been sent upon that 
work in order to do the wojk that was expected of the ship ; that is, to go to Littleton 
Island? — A. No, sir. 

Speaking of his experience through Melville Bay, he says : 

Q. You had no difficulty in your way finally in getting from Upernavik to Littleton 
Island? — A. We met the pack, a very heavy pack — that is, a great quantity of it, not 
particularly heavy ice — on the northern side of Melville Bay. We went through a 
number of loose streams of ice, some of it quite heavy, that struck us pretty hard, and 
a portion of the time, for about six hours, where there seemed to be a greater quantity 
of ice, the fog was very thick ; sometimes it would lift so that we could see a quarter 
of a mile, and at other times it would shut down so that we could not see beyond the 
ship's flying jibboom. When it raised we could see the ice still streaming away to the 
southwest, and I thought then and think now that we Avere in about the only open 
water that there was there. The southerly winds I believe had not only packed the 
ice up in the northern side of Melville Bay, but it kept the ice coming out of Lancas- 
ter Bay from going south and drifted that north. I think the northern part of Mel- 
ville Bay was full of it, and on the 10th of August I never could see more than a mile 
or two. It was quite as heavy as the Smith's Sound ice. 

Q. How did your ship behave ? Did you feel that you were in any danger while 
working through the pack ? — A. There was danger of the fog shutting down thick 
and of finding ourselves embayed in the ice, the shifting of the wind bringing it down 
behind, or ahead, or in any direction. I could not tell where it was coming, and was,. 
I thought, running a great risk in doing what I did, but I thought I would try it. 

Q. Do you think that the chances — not speaking of your after knowledge, but the 
knowledge you had then or the knowledge which the Proteus portion of the expedi- 
tion had acquired on their way up — were sufficient to lead them to doubt the practi- 
cability of the Yantic reaching Littleton Island so as to justify them in leaving that 
island without waiting at least a few days for her arrival? — A. I do. 

Q. That is, the party could not place any dependence upon your being able to get 
up there ? — A. None whatever, sir. 

Commodore Walker, on page 104, says : 

By the Court : 

Q. Did the Navy Department give General Hazen to understand at any time during 
those negotiations that there was a probability that the Yantic would reach Little- 
ton Island ? — A. I cannot say that we did, but I should not like to dispute it either, 
because in my mind there was very little doubt but that some time during the season 
she would reach Littleton Island. 

Q. In your opinion were the probabilities for or against her gettiug to Littleton 
Island ? — A. In my mind the probabilities were that she would reach Littleton Island, 
perhaps not directly, but some time during the season, although it would not have 
surpiised me if she had failed to reach there, still I thought there was a probability 
that she would succeed. 

Now this is all the testimony that I desire to call to the court's atten- 
tion particularly in respect to this matter, and I have no comments to 
make upon it ; it stands to speak for itself. 

I may, I think, with confidence submit to the court that between the 
pages of the testimony taken in this investigation, that I have had the 
honor to consider in your presence, there has not been shown any disobedi- 
ence of orders on the part of Lieutenant Garlington. I think I may go 
further and say that he has executed and carried out his instructions in 
the language of his chief not only "according to their spirit," but accord- 
ing to their letter as well. I think, may it please the court, that in view 
of the information he had, as the material upon which his judgment was 
to be formed at the time when his ship went under the ice on the evening 
of the 23d of July, that he did, in the exercise of his judgment and dis- 
cretion, the only thing under the conditions that it was possible for him to- 



240 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

do, or that promised safety to his own party, or the least probability of 
succor or relief for Greely's. The two naval officers who testified were 
emphatic in their approval of his course — Lieutenant Colwell at the time 
and Commander Wildes after he got there. 

"Good judgment, fidelity, persistency, and courage" are the qualities 
that Secretary Cliandler ascribes to a good officer. They indeed constitute 
"the splendid rigging of a noble manhood." It might M^ell be the high 
ambition of any officer to stand upon a pedestal constructed of such 
virtues. 

Viewing Garlington's conduct from the experiences of Arctic naviga- 
tion ; viewing it in the light of his own experiences through Melville Bay; 
considering it with reference to his knowledge of the Yantic, and the in- 
formation derived from her commander ; that it was the accumulated judg- 
ment of all, that the only thing was to come directly south ; the fatal conse- 
quences if he had erred on the side of remaining, had the Yantic failed 
to reach him — taking these all into consideration, I submit that the only 
safe thing for him to do, was the course that he adopted. I will therefore 
mark one stone " good judgment," and put it in its place. His fidelity 
has not been questioned ; mark another " fidelity," and place it. 

Persistency was his fault ; and it is charged that his too great zeal in 
pushing his ship forward precipitated the disaster. Upon this stone might 
be inscribed his own language, on the deck of his ship on the evening of 
the 22d July : " I would be unfaithful to my comrades that I am sent 
to relieve, and my Government that sent me to relieve them, if I did not 
take advantage of this lead to push on to their rescue." 

Amid dangers where a less steady courage might have been wary, no one 
has questioned his. I therefore inscribe " courage " on the last stone, 
and put it in its place to complete the pedestal, and I respectfully submit 
that upon this pedestal so constructed, Lieutenant Garlington's conduct of this 
expedition entitles him to stand. In what, then, has he been guilty to have 
merited the imputations that have been made upon his record as a soldier? 
Upon his arrival at St. John's he telegraphed on the 13th of September 
to his chief the sad information of the loss of his ship, and the failure of 
the expedition. He well knew that he must suffer the consequences of dis- 
trust and suspicion which attach to the failure of an enterprise in which 
human life is involved, and the public deeply interested ; his assurance was 
in the magnanimity of his f)rofessiou, which he knew would withhold 
censure until he was heard. Imagine his surprise, then, with the con- 
sciousness of having discharged his duty under his instructions with fidelity 
to his chief, that the first blow should have come from his own Department. 
On the 13th September he telegraphed the loss of his ship; on the 14th of 
September "Inclosure 4 " comes back into this case to do its cruel work. It 
comes now charged witli all the authority that can be given to it from the 
Signal Office, as the specific instructions and orders of Lieutenant Garling- 
ton. It goes forth to the world in company with the "surprise of the Sec- 
retary of War that Lieutenant Garlington should have disobeyed his posi- 
tive instructions." Categorical questions were sent to Garlington by the 
Secretary of War by telegraph to know "How it is," &c., and on the 14th 
Lieutenant Garlington telegraphs, "It was not in my programme; see my 
instructions," &c. Lieutenant Caziarc testifies that upon examination made, 
after Garlington's telegram is received, he found out, on the next day, the 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 241 

lotii, upon a close examination of tbeinclosure, that this "Inclosure4" was 
not referred to in the body of the instructions, and hence was not a part of 
Garlingtou's orders, although he testifies that he knew in June that this 
paper was not referred to in the body of the instructions. Yet he gives it 
out to the press for publication as Garlingtou's order. On the morning of 
the loth it was known in the Signal Office that Garlington, at St. John's, 
had in his possession his original instructions ; then it is found out in the 
Signal Office that there is a mistake about "Inclosure 4" being a part of 
his orders, but the justice of publishing this correction was not done. In 
its stead we find in the public press a dispatch of this character sent from 
Washington : 

Tlie Department refers to tlie snpiJlemental orders as evidence that it liad foreseen 
and provided for such a misfortune as overtook the Proteus, by directing that the 
stores be landed before entering Smith Sonnd. Lieutenant Gariington, on the other 
hand, claims that he acted upon his original instructions. 

And this issue is never abandoned by the Signal Office until the testi- 
mony introduced before this court shows that it \vas false. 

Lieutenant Caziarc says that he did all he could to correct the injustice 
done Gariington, ^'but that he had to be guarded." Why guarded ? If 
an error was published on the 14th, and on the 15th discovered, why guard 
against the publication of the truth on the 16th ? The high duty of the 
office was, to guard and not assassinate the reputation of an officer who had. 
come to its service accredited by his superiors as possessing the high quali- 
^ties requisite for the perilous duty he had been assigned to discharge. The 
only guard that it furnished was the escort to the error that went forth from 
the office under its sanction. 

I submit, to say the least of it, that it was a cruel, merciless, and unwar- 
ranted tampering with a soldier's reputation, under circumstances that de- 
manded the most scrupulous protection and care for it, in his absence. 

Lieutenant Garlingtou's report was made on the 2d of October, com- 
plaining of the injustice done him, but not until the IGtliof October was 
the report transmitted to the Secretary of War by General Hazen. Then 
for the first time Gariington was relieved of the stigma of having disobeyed 
orders. The qualification, however, under which it was done, I have con- 
sidered in another connection, but, as I there pointed out, it was far from 
doing him justice. 

Now, I want in this connection to say something more in respect to 
^' Inclosure 4 " and the part it played subsequently. I think it clearly shown 
in this case that General Hazen's recollection, Captain Powell's account, 
and Lieutenant Garlingtou's statement, constitute the true history of that 
paper, and of the date of its preparation. In justice to Lieutenant Gariing- 
ton, amid all the confusion that has come to light respecting these transac- 
tions, and the differences of understanding and differences of recollection on 
the part of various officers concerned with them, I will say that there is but 
one single issue upon it made, so far as he is concerned, and that, is that he 
saw the paper on June 3d. He is positive and emphatic that Lieutenant 
Caziarc is mistaken in stating that he showed it to him on Sunday, the 3d 
of June, the day upon which Lieutenant Caziarc fixes it. He denies that 
on that, or on any other day he expressed his approval, either in language 
or in any other manner, of the supplemental instructions, "Inclosure 4." 
He gives his reason for being positive on the subject, that although he was 
S. Ex. 100 IG 



242 PROCEECINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

the officer who was to take charge of this expedition, still Captain Clapp 
was retained after he had been put in charge, with authority to get up his 
orders, because of his long study of Arctic matters and of the information 
he Avas supposed to have touching it ; that he declined to make even any 
suggestion upon the memorandum that was sent around by General Hazen 
to all officers in the office, giving as his reason that in the event of failure 
he did not wish to be in a position to divide any responsibility of that 
kind Avith any one. 

Caziarc testifies that the paper Avas prepared at the instance of Captain 
PoAvell on Sunday, June 3d, and he says Captain PoAvell came to him on 
Saturday, June 2d, and requested it ; that he came to the office on Sunday 
to work it up. He fixes the date of its preparation first, from the fact that 
the next day General Hazen returned from St. John's, and the other fact 
of his having a conversation Avith Lieutenant Garlington respecting the mat- 
ter on Sunday, Avhich Lieutenant Garlington denies. Garlington says that 
the only conference he ever had with Caziarc on the subject was about the 
20th of May, or perhaps a little later, Avhich corresponds exactly Avith the 
time given by Captain PoAvell. 

I here give Caziarc's OAvn version of hoAV the false copies were made. 
On page 46 he says : 

During the first two or three days after the dispatch of September 13, possibly the 
15th or 16th, Mr. Chandler was away, and Commodore English, I think, was Acting 
Secretary of the Navy ; the papers were freely carried back and forth from our office ; 
such papers as any particular inquiry rendered necessary, either in the form of roughs 
or of complete copies, or rough copies, to save carrying the large record-books of the 
office to and fro, as is constantly the case, and after the return of Secretary Chandler, 
when he took up the examination of the whole subject, those papers again went back 
and forth; sometimes they would be in our office and sometimes in the Navy Depart- 
ment; but on the conclusion being reached by the Secretaries that nothing further 
could be done, or some time after that, the Secretary of the Navy asked that he should 
have the papers that had been used in the course of those conferences, and then they 
were made up, and transmitted to him with such completeness, as Captain Mills 
thought necessary, to give him the data Avhich had been used during the conferences. 

On the 15th he had found that " Inclosure 4" AA^as not a part of Gar- 
lington's instructions, and yet sometime subsequent to that, he furnishes 
to the Secretary of "War for the Secretary of the Navy, a copy of "In- 
closure 4" from his office, in which this paper which he had found be- 
fore AA^as not even an inclosure, is not only put in as an inclosure, but 
actually the instructions themselves refer to it in red ink in the body there- 
of as an inclosure. Noav the explanation of hoAV that ''Inclosure 4" got 
in there is made on page 47 of the testimony, and I Avill not detain the 
court by any comment upon it. I don't knoAA^ enough about the irregulari- 
ties of the office to appreciate such testimony. 

Lieutenant Caziarc says in justification of his publication of" Inclosure 4," 
on the 14th of September, that he looked at it casually and he thought it was 
a copy, and he sent it out as such, and gaA^e it as a part of the instructions. 
Yet, Avhen the pa])er Avas fresh in his mind, a few days after he prepared it, 
and after he had knoAvn, as he says, that it Avas in conflict Avith Lieu- 
tenant Garlington's instructions, when he comes to furnish a copy of 
Garlington's instructions for the press, from the same bundle of papers, as 
I understand, from Avhich he subsequently furnished copies for the Secre- 
tary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, he did not furnish this paper 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 243 

as a part of his instructions. This was before the departure of the expe- 
dition. On page 61 he says: 

Q. On the 4t]i of June that paper was in your hands ? — A. Certainly. 

Q. On the 3d of June, I understand, you had prepared the memorandum instructiors 
referred to here ? — A. Ou the ;id of June. 

Q. Did it become apparent to you, upon the knowledge of those two papers that 
you had at that time, that there was a direct conflict between them ? — A. Not so di- 
rect as had been assumed. There was a direct conflict between them to one extent : so 
far as affected the orders to Lieutenant Garlington. In that respect they were in direct 
conflict, and one or the other should have been amended. 

Very well. He knew that the original instructions jDrepared by General 
Hazen and which met his (Hazen's) views had not been amended. He 
knew before the expedition departed that a copy had been furnished* to 
the Navy Department. It strikes me, in view of the fact that no superior 
informed him, according to his own testimony, that this paper had beea 
adopted, that it would have been a reasonable inference to have drawn 
that it had not been adopted, when it was, as he says, in direct conflict 
with the instructions which had been furnished Garlington, so far as 
" Inclosure 4 " related to him, which instructions he knew had not beem 
amended to harmonize with " Inclosure 4." 

Lieutenant Caziarc testified that this paper was given to Captain Powell^ 
who informed him he gave it to the Chief Signal Officer. Lieutenant Gar- 
lington says Captain Powell informed him that he had not taken it when 
Caziarc showed it to him, and consequently had not given it to Hazen. 
Captain Powell says he has no recollection of having given any such in- 
formation to Caziarc and that he never gave the paper to Hazen. Lieu- 
tenant Caziarc says he never gave it to General Hazen, and never sent it 
to the Navy Department. The Secretary of the Navy says he never 
saw it. When Commander Wildes' instructions were prepared it had not 
reached the Navy Department, according to Commodore Walker. Gen- 
eral Hazen says he never carried it ; on the contrary, he took the genuine 
instructions which he understood took the place of the memorandum in- 
structions. 

On the other hand. Commander McCalla is quite positive that he saw 
it in the Navy Department. Neither Commodore Walker or the Secre- 
tary of the Navy remember having seen the paper. McCalla says that 
Commodore Walker gave it to him*. Now, coming back to the time whea 
Lieutenant Caziarc prepared this p|iper. He says he prepared it on Sun- 
day, and in the early hours of Monday morning it was given to Captain 
Powell, who was then acting Chief Signal Officer. It comes out this 
morning, as General Hazen informs us, that on Monday, the 4th of June, he 
arrived at the office an hour earlier than had been his custom, and had sent 
telegraphic orders to have the office open at 8 o'clock, that he might be. 
there, in order that the earliest attention might be given to this very sub- 
ject. Lieutenant Caziarc must be mistaken. It is not probable that he, 
as adjutant-general of the office, should have given to Captain Powell a 
paper which was intended for General Hazen, in the early hours of Mon- 
day morning, when General Hazen was there to receive it himself, and 
General Hazen is quite positive in his recollection that he did not receive 
it. 

It is another part of the history of " Inclosure 4," that the objects for 
which it was being prepared, the purposes and ends which it was to sei vcj, 



244 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

seem to have been all in confusion. As I stated before, General Hazeu 
thought it was not necessary in view of the fact that the Proteus was to 
have a tender. It was being prepared by the officers in his department in 
vieW' of the fact that there was to be a tender, and made necessary for that 
reason. We have it appearing in all sorts of shapes. Sergeant Beale is 
■charged with some of the confusion in copying and putting it in the wrong 
place. Everybody who touches it seems to have trouble with it in some 
way. It turns up in every place. It is impossible to get any correct or 
Irue history of it so far as I have been able to discover. We find it al- 
ways serving some purpose. I think, without any injustice to the Signal 
Office, the observation in "Little Dorritt" with respect to the Circumlocu- 
tion office may be applied to it. That " whatever was required to be done 
the Signal Office was beforehand with all the other public departments in 
the art of perceiving how not to do it." 

The Secretary of the Navy asked for instructions. This paper in the 
absence -of Hazen is prepared. It was not what was asked for, and this 
should have been the end of it ; but it is brought into the case, and with 
it all the difficulty. But to get the paper into the case at all, the genuine 
^'' luclosure 4," which was among the papers, had to be gotten rid of. 

In order to get this paper, which is exhibited as " luclosure 4," into 
the case I will merely refer to Cazarc's testimony, which is an attempt to 
explain it. That is all there is on the subject in the testimony. 

In view of the history of " luclosure 4 " and the general treatment of 
Oarlington as developed in the testimony, I think, when the Secretary of 
War comes to review this case, he will have no occasion to regret the sugges- 
tion in his letter, that if Garlington had lost his life his record would have 
suffered from the imputation of having disobeyed his orders. 

In the light of subsequent developments, I am justified in saying 
that if Lieutenant Garlington had had the misfortune to have lost his 
orders with his shi^D, that this Court would never have been convened ; but 
ere this Garlington would have responded to charges and specifications be- 
fore a Court-martial and been dismissed the service in disgrace, for disobe- 
dience of orders. Fortunate for him, that in the wreck, he saved these 
papers, for with them, he saved his reputation as a soldier, and his com- 
mission in the service. 

With these he now comes before a Qourt where all the light that can be 
thrown upon this transaction has been turned on ; no requests have been 
denied, to grant facilities for explaining circumstances that might create 
suspicions. AVitnesses to testify have been brought from Newfoundland and 
from Texas, because it was claimed that they could explain things that were 
not clear. 

He comes now freed from the suspicions and unjust criticisms that 
have been made by some, in view of the fact that he was the officer in 
charge of the conduct of the expedition that failed. He has sufferedthe conse- 
quences which always attend such failures, a suffering to a soldier far keener 
than the physical discomforts of sleeping in an open boat, anchored to an 
iceberg, in an arctic ocean. He comes now in a presence where prejudice, 
suspicion, and distrust are strangers; before a court organized for the pur- 
pose of inquiry into his conduct. That conduct is to be measured by 
the absolute standard of justice and strict accountability for action. A sol- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY, 245 

dier's reputation formed by any other standard isn't worth the care of its 
keeping. 

In this presence all are silent to hear the judgment. From out the bitter 
blasts of wrong and detraction, more piercing than Arctic winds, he comes 
before this court, bringing in one hand his orders, and in the other the clean, 
pure record made thereunder, amid the ice of the Arctic regions, and places 
them before the court, with the assurance that he will at last realize, in this 
presence, the reminder of Richelieu to his king — 

* * * For JUSTICE, 

All place a temple, and all season, summer. 

I beg that it may not be deemed out of place if I venture to tender to» 
the court, in conclusion, my grateful acknowledgments for the courtesy 
which has extended to me the privilege of appearing before you in behalf 
of Lieutenant Garlington, and, what I prize much more highly, the con- 
tinued courtesy and kindness with which my presence has been received in 
the discharge of the duties devolving upon me. 

General Hazen then read to the court as follows: 

STATEMENT OF GEXEEAL HAZEN. 

The Lady Franklin Bay expedition was authorized by statute, and the 
character, outfit, and scope of its work practically determined before I be- 
came Chief Signal Officer ; and I succeeded to this with the other duties of 
my office. It differed from expeditions that had preceded it to the Arctic 
regions in this, that, while their purpose had been mainly exploration and 
discovery, largely experimental, the objects of this one were distinctively 
and thoroughly defined. It was to proceed to a well-known spot, and 
establish there a small observatory, in conjunction with many observatories 
of like character at other points about the pole, established by other na- 
tions, for the purpose of taking, with similar instruments at the same 
absolute moment of time, certain meteorological observations for future 
comparison and study. This greatly simplified the problem so far as re- 
ferred to the transportation of the expedition, wdiich was merelv to carry it 
in a safe and expeditious manner, suitably supplied with stores and a ready- 
made house, to the point already chosen, leave it there, and then bring the 
' ship home and discharge it. The United States established a second station 
at Point Barrow. 

Thus it was not thought necessary to establish any one main depot on 
the line of retreat, but in place of it many small ones, several being already 
there, having been established by Sir George Nares in 1875. 

The officer chosen to command the expedition, carry it to the spot, and 
then have charge of its scientific work had for many years given ex- 
haustive study to the whole subject, and in almost all things was its au- 
thor, and is believed to be admirably fitted for it. As this work was to- 
continue several years, it was thought best to send up a ship each summer,, 
and it was decided to make the journeys as efficient, and at the same time 
inexpensive, as possible. 

For the first trip in 1881 a steamer was chartered from the JSTewfound- 
land fleet of sealing vessels, at the total cost of about $25,000. She was 
selected and chartered by the officer in charge of the expedition. Lieuten- 
ant Greely,and sailing from St. John's, N. F,, the Tthday of July, reached 
Lady Franklin Bay, latitude 81° 42' north, August 12th, with very little 
obstruction from ice, discharged and returned safely to St. John's the 12th 



246 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

of October, or in the unprecedentedly short time of 67 days, and without 
accident of any kind. This ship was the Proteus. In 1882 the sister 
ship of the Proteus, the Neptune, was chartered and sent from St. John's 
supplied with a choice selection of stores, but on reaching the locality of 
Oape Hawkes, latitude 79° 20', she found the ice in Smith Sound unbroken, 
and after remaining in Smith Sound forty days, making every effort to make 
a passage north, and until the season had arrived when it was not possible 
to find such a passage, there being none, the Neptune returned to St. John's 
and was discharged. 

The last Congress decided to recall both the Lady Franklin Bay and 
Point Bairow expeditious, although not completing by one year the work 
agreed upon by the several nations, and the same ship, the Proteus, with 
the same Captain Pike, who made the successful trip of 1881, and brought 
back Mr. Greely's commendations, after having been inspected and pro- 
nounced suitable by an engineer officer of the United States Navy, was 
■chartered and sent to Smith Sound. She left St. John's the 29th of June, 
and proceeded safely and in a thoroughly satisfactory and efficient manner, 
till reaching the locality of Cape Sabine, latitude 78° 52', when she was 
nipped in the ice, the 23d day of July, and sank. Up to the sinking of 
this ship the progress and conduct of these vessels, as sho\\ru to this court, 
•was in every respect efficient and satisfactory, while the voyage of 1881 
was the most successful one in point of time ever made in high latitudes. 

The questions which seem to require notice here, are : 

'1st. Was the subject of these expeditions carefully studied? 

2d. Were the ships suitable for the purposes required of them? 

.3d. W ere the officers in charge properly chosen and instructed ? 

There can be no reasonable doubt that extended and careful study was 
given the whole subject from its inception. Mr. Greely had himself in the 
s^iost comprehensive manner carefully investigated it, and has given us a 
practical and most successful example of what he wanted, and how he 
wanted it done, and afterwards reduced his plans to writing. The evidence 
upon this point, of the system and methods by which this study was car- 
ried on, are before the court. 

As to suitableness of the ships there is no room for doubt. 

It is in evidence, and a well-known fact among maritime men, that for 
ice service the Newfoundland sealing fleet is the best afloat. It is the 
■development of more than two hundred years' experience in ice service, and 
her steamships are built in the very best navy-yards in the world. Her 
trade is of the most profitable kind, ^vhich has naturally made her ships 
what they are. It is a well-known fact, and in evidence, that the Proteus 
was among the best and most suitable vessels for the purposes of this ex- 
pedition of any in that fleet. 

Each of these ships, before being contracted for, was carefully inspected 
by an officer of the United States Navy, sent for that purpose, and pro- 
siounced suitable for the voyage, both in hull, machinery, and equipment. 

The owners of the Proteus, a firm of more than one hundred years' 
standing both in St. John's and Dundee, and of the highest respectability, 
who guard their business integrity as a soldier does his honor, sent with her 
the captain with whom they had trusted one of their best ships for ten 
years — a captain whom the entire community of Newfoundland pro- 
oounced the best for our purposes sailing in those waters. The owners 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 247 

also placed in her a good .crew, and one and one-half years' supply of 
fresh provisions, and it is difficult to see wherein any improvement could 
have been made in respect to these ships. 

The instructions under which they sailed were substantially those of 
Mr. Greely, who, from his studies of the expeditions (and they were 
thought to be sufficiently full and complete) and his position at Lady 
Franklin Bay could, and did, speak with weight and power. This he did 
just at the time the Proteus was leaving him to return home, as no other 
man could, upon this subject, and in a manner which no one could 
properly disregard. It was at a time when no reply or change was pos- 
sible, and in the most emphatic terms, made under circumstances pecul- 
iarly grave and full of responsibility — a plan on the loyal execution of 
which depended his own life and the lives of his party. It had the force 
of being made on the spot, with the admonition not to depart from it in 
any particular, and it had to me, and always has had, the power of an ab- 
solute command ; not because Mr. Greely's plan was better than any other 
plan, but it was the preconcerted plan of rescue, and it seemed that any 
departure would be not only treasonable to Mr. Greely and to a sacred 
obligation, but in every sense unjustifiable ; and when propositions were 
sug2:ested to depart from it, as appears in evidence was done, I was em- 
phatic in my disapproval. 

iS^o one can know what controlled Mr. Greely in directing these meas- 
ures, what bearing each measure may have upon the others, only that it 
was a plan by which the lives of his party were to be saved ; nor has any one 
a right to say he did not know what he wanted. All that can be known 
is, that it was his prearranged plan for rescue, which ought to be invio- 
late. When Congress introduced into the question a new element, by re- 
quiring the recall of the expedition this season, it did seem necessary to 
depart from it so far as to land the winter depot going up, but the convoy, 
afterwards determined upon, did away with this necessity. Still I was 
anxious to do this, and only for the reasons given should have ordered the 
landing on the way north ; and it was still in the discretion of the officer in 
charge when on the spot to do it, for such discretion then must of neces- 
sity be almost without limit. Its exercise would have been proper in 
case it could be done without loss of time, as from ice or other causes 
of delay, which could only be known on the spot. 

This whole subject had been most carefully considered, and while I was 
always favorably disposed to this upward landing, I could not order it ; 
and when it was proposed to make the depot on the west side of Smith 
Sound, some thirty miles from the point selected by Lieutenant Greely, on 
an inhospitable barren coast, nearly destitute of animal life, while the 
point chosen on the east side was greatly preferable in all these particu- 
lars, I most emphatically declined to entertain it. Nares speaks of the 
vicinity of Life Boat Cove in the highest terms as a place favorable to 
animal life, while of Cape Hawkes he says, " We could find only the very 
smallest trace of vegetation ; indeed any but an enthusiastic botanist would 
call the country perfectly barren." Cape Sabine is not much better. 

A prearranged plan for rescue in a distant land must be literally ob- 
served in all its particulars, else it is misleading and a snare, and all plans 
not prearranged may fail, a:s was the case in the long and tedious search 
for Sir John Franklin; and so important is prearrangement that Mr. 



248 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

George Henry Richards, in writing the introductory remarks to Nares^ 
narrative, says of the want of it in that case, " This is the fatal mistake 
which experience has taught us, and which can never be reproduced ; " and 
he says further, " Much has been written by theorists after the event to 
prove that the long and fruitless seach was made in the wrong direction," 

" This is specious enough." * * * « Instructions to the leaders of 
such expeditions can be considered only as advice to be followed under 
certain assumed conditions, but in the uncertainties of Arctic navigation 
circumstances are almost certain to occur which may render it impossible 
to act upon instructions, however ably conceived. " These remarks apply 
equally in all cases of Arctic navigation ; and whenever escape from ship- 
wreck in these seas has been effected the conditions of the moment have and 
must govern. The simple preparations of readiness are matters which no 
careful commander will neglect. 

The advantage of the upward landing would have been in shortening 
the period of sea perils for the depot of supplies, which fact, now in the 
light of after-events, seems to stand out very prominently. But the Po- 
laris, the Jeannette, and the Rogers, except north of where lost, made no 
such depots, nor had any previous American polar expedition. The suc- 
cessful expedition of Mr. Greely, in 1881, did not do it, nor did that of 
1882, nor did Mr. Greely in any way refer to such action, but on the con- 
trary sketched out a different course, and forbade any departure from it. 
It would have separated Lieutenant Garlington from his depots, and should 
it happen that the ship on arriving at Littleton Island should find clear 
weather and an open sea to the north, no one could tell the effect it might 
have upon the success of the expedition by delaying to unload. 

This fact was most vividly sketched by Captain Clapp when this sub- 
ject was under discussion before the expedition sailed. This very condi- 
tion of things did occur when the Proteus arrived at that point, Captain 
Pike remarking, "We will have Greely to-morrow." The main idea and 
purpose of the expedition was to reach Mr. Greely at Lady Franklin Bay, 
and the Proteus did go on. Had she been as fortunate as she hoped to be, 
and as it seemed to those on board almost certain she would be, and as she 
had been under precisely similar circumstances two years before, or even 
as the Neptune had been, this question of not landing her stores on the 
way up would never have been heard of Like the succeasful assaults of 
troops in a campaign, these ships in Arctic service, to ever succeed must 
be intrepid and face danger. 

Memorandum No. 4, that appears conspicuously in this inquiry, I had 
no hand in except to reject it. It was the plan of a staif officer, well in- 
tentioned, but not in accord with Mr. Garlington's instructions nor Mr. 
Greely's plans, was without date or signature, and without existence as a 
paper of any importance except in the light of after-events. 

The question was asked me in court if I was refused the money neces- 
sary to carry out fully my plans for the expedition, to which I replied, 
that all the money had been given that I had asked for. 

The reluctance of Congress in granting the necessary appropriations 
for the Signal Service, however, which terminated in the rejection of part of 
them, did deter me from asking for the money necessary for sending tM'O 
ships, which would have been the better plan. 

A word is necessary upon some portions of the testimony. I disclaim 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 249 

any intentiou to reflect upon what any one has said, but there is something 
in a regular military service that disqualifies some men from exercising a 
broad and fair judgment upon an irregular one. There has been a dispo- 
sition not warranted by the facts to belittle the quality of this work ; to 
disparage the fitness of the ship, her equipment, and her officers and 
crew. But it is in evidence that all these were good and efficient. 

It was stated upon the stand and circulated in the public press that the 
crew was inefficient, mutinous, thieving, and disobedient, but close inquiry 
brought out the fact that all the time these men were on board the Pro- 
teus they performed their duties unexceptionally well, and after the ship- 
wi'eck, when there was dilatoriness more than disobedience (and Captain 
Pike says there was not even that), it was because by their customs and 
laws the wreck of the ship discharged them from any authority, while the 
charge of thieving is not sustained. 

It was said that Captain Pike was an inefficient officer. The evidence 
does not substantiate this, but quite the opposite. Is it possible that the 
entire community of Newfoundland is wrong upon this point, or that a 
great shipping firm like J. S. Stewart would for ten years give one of their 
best ships in charge of an inefficient captain? It was said that he could 
not use his compass in those high latitudes. But it is known that after 
passing the Arctic Circle the compass may as well be laid away by all 
captains. It was said further that he even passed Godhavn without 
noticing the harbor. But the truth is, that nine out of ten ships do the 
same thing, on account of the blindness of the passage into the harbor 
and the thickness of the atmosphere. 

Complaint was also made of the Proteus's boats, but they brought her 
crew safely to Upernavik, and that for fear these men would steal the 
better boats of Mr. Garlington a guard was kept over them. To do this. 
_was simply a duty at all times. It was also said that on two occasions 
the ship struck bottom, when the facts are that the smooth, ice-worn rocks 
and muddy bottoms in that sea are not dangerous when slowing the ship, 
and touching bottom is not unusual; that in the Bay of Fundy ships are 
half the twenty-four hours high and dry out of water, and by Sir George 
Nares's narrative his ships touched frequently, and in those waters it is not 
a matter of any seriousness. 

The testimony of Commander Wildes was largely denunciatory of every- 
thing connected with the expedition, and especially so of the Proteus, her 
captain and crew. I will merely call attention, as an example, to his 
answer to my question, after he had denounced the ships and their equip- 
ments which were used in 1882-'83 : " If any ships could have gone 
further or done more than the Neptune, when, in 1882, the solid ice in 
Smith's Sound did not break up, or the Proteus in 16" 83, up to the time- 
she was nipped and sunk," he answered "that they covild not," and after- 
wards added, " equipped as they were," when he knew perfectly well that 
no equipment in the world would have carried the Neptune or any other 
ship further, nor saved the Proteus or any other ship from sinking. To 
his allegation that the Proteus's crew was made up of 'longshoremen, 
beach-combers, and not seamen, Captain Pike simply says, " It is untrue." 

These several expeditions to the Arctic regions, and especially the one: 
of this year, were elaborated with very careful and complete study and 
preparation. The greatest care was given to the quality of the food, and 



250 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

the quantity was ample. It is probable that no expeditious to the Arctic 
have ever been sent so well provided. The one at Point Barrow, now 
returned, in two years never had a man on the sick report, and there was 
no discomfort at any time. The best ships afloat for the purpose were se- 
cured, they were well officered and manned, and they performed their part 
in all respects, so far as any ships could do it, in the most satisfactory man- 
ner. Such expeditions are always fraught with great danger, and are un- 
dertaken with a full knowledge of that fact. These three expeditions and 
three others on the Pacific side were all made to the Arctic seas, and, so 
far as is known, without the loss of life and with the loss of one ship, 
which found herself in a position where no ship in the world could live. 

Compare this with the last three ships besides these sent out for polar 
-exploration : the Polaris, the Jeannette, and the Rogers, all lost, and in each 
case with loss of life. If the Proteus should go iutothat lead, on the 23d 
of July, only those present could decide, and if it was a mistake, no one can 
say. Had she gone through, as she was near doing, the act would have 
met only commendation. The officer on such responsible and distant duty, 
like a commander in battle, must not be hampered, and, excepting the gen- 
eral directions of Mr. Greely, I left the officer in charge all the latitude I 
•could. And when I was assured a tender would go, and wdien I knew 
that she would carry rations enough for all hands in case of disaster, I was 
satisfied, preferring to raise no formal question of supplies that might con- 
sume time, feeling confident the commander would fully recognize that his 
responsibility for their safety, in case of any unforeseen emergency, covered 
and embraced all persons in that region, whether on or off his ship. 

No orders could have added to the measure of this responsibility, and 
■with Lieutenant Greely's plan of relief before him, that he should have left 
those regions, as it appears to me, fifty days before it became necessary, 
knowing that plan would bring Mr. Greely there some time within that 
period and that he would be in need of succor, and that he should have 
brought back to St. John's what would have been a year's supply of food 
for Greely's party and left nothing for him, is certainly what could not 
have been anticipated. 

I do not view Mr. Greely's situation, with all these disappointments, as 
one of jeopardy. He may have reached the Danish settlements, and, if 
not, quite probably those of the Esquimaux ; in either cfise he will be 
fairly off for the winter. Or it is possible he may have returned from 
-Cape Sabine to Lady Franklin Bay, where he has probably ample food. 
Or he may make his camp at Life Boat Cove, gather in the several small 
depots within reach, and supplement his winter's stock with native food. 
Of this vicinity, the winter quarters of the Polaris party of 1872-'73, Sir 
George Nares says : "It must have been a favorite and productive station 
for the natives for a long course of years. Reindeer and walrus bones are 
most prominent ; remains of seals, foxes, and hares are very abundant, and 
there are thousands of sterna of little auks." 

Mr. Greely reports from Lady Franklin Bay on the 15th of August, it 
being but three days after his arrival, that he had already secured three 
months' full rations of native meat. This shows what can be done in 
those regions where game exists. He was specially instructed to thor- 
oughly inform himself upon the wdiole subject of native food, expressly to 
foe in readiness for such a contingency as now exists. On the 1st of Sep- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 251 

teniber he would still have at Lady Franklin Bay forty-seven twenty-four- 
hour days of the long day left, with a meridian sun of 1 6 degrees ; and 
should he have water, aud travel south at the rate of twenty-five miles a 
day, he would at no time have less sun at mid-day. But should he stop 
at Littleton Island after traveling south at that daily rate, he would still 
have about fifty twenty-four-hour days before the long night would begin — 
ample time for suitable preparation for his winter camp. 

The long night there, which at no time is darker than twilight, extends 
from October 27 to February 15, or 111 days. 

The main source of apprehension comes from the fact that the Proteus 
party left promises of succor this season, Avhicli was not rendered. This 
may lead to neglect of necessary preparations for the winter, and to dis- 
couragement. 

In this connection I desire to call attention to what my wishes and 
recommendations upon the subject of reaching the Arctic with succor were, 
during the past autumn, after tidings of the disaster reached here, and 
call attention to my telegrams from Washington Territory upon this sub- 

From the beginning I have labored for the success of this work with 
zeal, industry, and earnestness, aud often under circumstances of discour- 
agement. 

The court then at 3 p. ra. adjourned until to-morrow morning, the 4th 
instant', at 11 o'clock. 



January 4, 1884 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
recorder, and remained in consultation until 3 o'clock, when the court ad- 
journed until to-morrow at 11 a. m. 



January 5, 1884 — 11 a. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder, and remained in consultation until 3 o'clock, when the court 
adjourned until Monday, 7th, at 11 a. m. 

January 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, aud 12th, from 11 a. m. to 3 p. m. 
each day, the court was in deliberation and engaged in preparing its re- 
port. 

REPORT OF FACTS DEVELOPED BY THE INQUIRY. 

In 1875 Lieut. Karl Weyprecht, of the Austrian Navy, proposed a 
scheme of international circum-polar research in as high latitudes as 
practicable. Under date of May 20, 1879, he M'rote to General A. J. 
Myer, then the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, in regard to the matter, 
suggesting that the United States establish and maintain a station at Point 
Barrow, and that they send a representative to a conference which was to 
meet at Hamburg on the 1st of October, 1 879. The Chief Signal Officer 



252 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

replied on the 8th of September following, and encouraged LieuteAant 
Weyprecht to expect the co-operation of onr Government. 

Up to this time no mention is made, in the papers before the court, of 
any proposition to establish a second station. Early in 1880 it appears 
that a bill was introduced in Congress providing for an Arctic expedition,, 
which authorized the establishment of a temporary station to be continued 
through a series of years at some point north of tlie eighty-first parallel, 
on or near the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, for the purposes of scientific 
observation and exploration, and to develop or discover new whaling 
grounds, &c. This bill further authorized the President to accept the 
loan of the steamship Gulnare, and to fit her out for the purposes of the 
expedition. This bill became a law on May 1, 1880, under the title "An 
act to authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic seas." The act was 
simply permissive and made no appropriation. 

By act of Congress of March 3, 1881, the sum of $25,000 was appro- 
priated under the head — 

Miscellaneous objects under the War Department, Signal Service : 
For continiiiug the work of scientific observation and exploration on or near the 
shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transportation of men and supplies to said loca- 
tion and return. 

In accordance with this act a force was organized for the work, under 
the direction of General W. B. Hazen (who had succeeded General Myer 
as Chief Signal Officer of the Army), consisting of three commissioned of- 
ficers, nineteen enlisted men, one acting assistant surgeon, and two natives 
of Greenland (all of whom were volunteers for the service), First Lieut. A. 
W. Greely, of the Fifth Cavalry, being in command. The party left Saint 
John's, N. F., on the 7th July, 1881, on the steamship Proteus, Capt. 
Richard Pike, toaster, and after a remarkably quick voyage reached the ' 
southeast point of Lady Franklin Bay on the 4th, and Discovery Harbor 
on the 11th of August. The Proteus landed her passengers and cargo, 
and started on her return to Saint John's about the 18th, but being delayed 
by ice a few miles southeast of Discovery Harbor, Lieutenant Greely was 
able to communicate with her as late as the 25th. She got clear of the ice 
on the 26th, and reached Saint John's about the 12th of September, hav- 
ing been gone but a few days more than two months, and bringing back 
with her the latest information from the party at Lady Franklin Bay. 
Amongst the communications from Lieutenant Greely to the Chief Signal 
Officer was the important one dated August 17, 1881, suggesting a pro- 
gramme of operations for the government of the relief party to be sent to 
Lady Franklin Bay in 1882 and 1883. 

By joint resolution of June 27, 1882, the sum of $33,000 was appro- 
priated and made immediately available for — 

Continuing the work of scientific observation and exploration on or near the shores 
of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transportation of men and supplies to said location 
and return, and for continuing the work of scientific observation at Point Barrow, &c. 

Under the provisions of this law, the Chief Signal Officer of the Army 
organized a relief expedition for I^ady Franklin Bay, for which purpose 
Mr. Wm. M. Beebe, jr., of the Signal Service, under instructions of, and 
authority from, the Chief Signal Officer, chartered, at Saint John's, N. 
F., the steamship Neptune, Wm. Sopp, master. She sailed from Saint 
John's on the 8th July, 1882, with the relief party and supplies on board, 
and Mr. Beebe in charge. In the early morning of the 29th she passed 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 253 

Littleton Island, but imuiediately thereafter was stopped by a barrier of ice. 
She remained in this vicinity until September 5, never reaching a higher 
latitude than 79° 20', when, finding it hopeless to make further attempts 
to reach Lady Franklin Bay, she abandoned the effort, and, in accordance 
with her instructions in the event of failure to reach Lieutenant Greely, 
established a cache of provisions upon Littleton Island, and another on 
Cape Sabine, of 250 rations each. She also left a whale-boat at Cape Sa- 
bine, and another at Cape Isabella, and then bore away for Saint John's, 
l)ringing the rest of her stores back to that point, where she arrived on the 
24th September, 1882. The supplies were landed and stored for future 
shipment to Lady Franklin Bay. 

This failure of the expedition of 1882 rendered it imperative to take 
active measures for the dispatch of a relief expedition in 1883 — now ren- 
dered the more urgent, because if Lieutenant Greely were not earlier re- 
lieved, he would, under his instructions, abandon his station at a date 
not later than September 1, 1883. 

Under date of November 1, 1882, the Chief Signal Officer submitted to 
the Secretary of War a plan for a relief expedition during the summer of 
1883, to be composed of one officer and ten enlisted men of the Army, with 
an acting assistant surgeon. This project w^as promptly returned by the 
Secretary, with the suggestion that it " would be much more desirable to 
endeavor to procure from the Navy the persons who are needed for this 
relief party," and requested the views of the Chief Signal Officer, who re- 
plied on the 8th of November that he " would consider the transfer now 
of any part of this work to any other control as very hazardous and with- 
out any apparent promise of advantage." 

The organization of the relief party was then proceeded with, and on 
February 6, 1883, First Lieut. Ernest A. Garlington, Seventh Cavalry, 
was directed to report to the Chief Signal Officer for duty in connection 
with the relief expedition, he having volunteered for the service. He duly 
reported at Washington, and on the 28th February was assigned to all duties 
connected with the expedition, relieving Capt. W. H. Clapp, Sixteenth 
Infantry, who had theretofore performed them, but who continued to act 
to some extent as an adviser to the Chief Signal Officer in regard to mat- 
ters relating to fitting out the expedition, and in preparing instructions for 
the government of Lieutenant Garlington. 

By act of Congress, approved March 3, 1883, under the head, "Signal 

Service, to be expended by the Secretary of War," the sum of $33,000 was 

.a])propriated 

For completing the work of scientific observation and exploration on or near the 
shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transportation of men and supplies to said loca- 
tion and return, and for completing the work of scientilic exploration at Point Bar- 
row, *^ * * the same to be immediately available. 

The same act 

Provided that the above work near Lady Franklin Bay and Point Barrow shall be 
closed and the force there employed shall be returned to the United States within the 
year eighteen hundred and eighty-four. 

The following indorsement by the Secretary of War appears upon a 

memorandum taken to him by the Chief Signal Officer about the 1st of 

April, 1883 : 

The Arctic expeditions originated in the Signal Office, and no other Bureau seems 
to have taken the slightest interest in them. It was solely upon the ijrgencyof the 
Chief Signal Officer fliat the Secretary of War, not without reluctance, took the steps 
which have placed these exi^editions on foot. * * ** 



254 PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Preparations for tlie dispatch of the proposed relief expedition had been 
meanwhile continued, and on May 10 the Chief Signal Officer applied for 
authority to visit Saint Jolin's, N. F., for the purpose of securing the best 
vessel available for the purposes of the expedition, and also the services of 
certain experienced persons to accompany it. On the same day he re- 
quested that application be made for the detail of an officer of the I^avy to 
inspect such vessel as to her suitableness for the intended service. The 
orders for General Hazen's journey to Saint John's bear date of May 16, 
and those to Lieut. Commander B. H. McCalla, the officer of the IS^avy 
designated to make the inspection, were dated May 17. On or about May 
18 they left for Saint John's, and the result was the engagement of the 
steamship Proteus, the same vessel, with the same master, that had so suc- 
cessfully transported Lieutenant Greely.to Lady Franklin Bay two years 
before. The crew, however, with very few exceptions, was entirely dif- 
ferent. 

On the 4th of June General Hazen returned to Washington, and on 
the same day signed the instructions which were to govern Lieutenant 
Garlington during his absence upon the expedition. 

Previous to his departure for Saint John's, that is to say, on May 14, the 
Chief Signal Officer requested that "the Secretary of the Navy be commu- 
nicated with, with a view to his sending a ship of that branch of the 
service as escort, to bring back information, render assistance, and take 
such other steps as might be necessary in case of unforeseen emergencies,'^ 
stating that " she need not enter the ice pack nor encounter any unusual 
danger." 

In accordance with this request, the U. S. S. Yantic, being the smallest 
and handiest ship available for the purpose, was designated for the service 
referred to, by letter from the Navy Department to Rear- Admiral George 
PI. Cooper, commanding North Atlantic Squadron, dated May 31, 1883, and 
on the 2d of June Admiral Cooper directed Commander Frank Wildes, 
commanding the Yantic, to prepare his vessel for the above-mentioned 
service, and urged haste. She went alongside the dry-dock at the New 
York navy-yard on the same day, and into it on the 7th, coming out 
again on the 12th of June. Tiie ship was prepared to some extent to en- 
counter ice by a sheathing of oak plank about 2^ inches thick (a little 
thicker about the cut-water), and extending from her water-line to about 7 
feet below, and her battery and ammunition were landed in order to give her 
greater carrying capacity. She carried a ship's company of one hundred 
and twenty-four enlisted men and twenty officers, with eight months' pro- 
visions for eighty men. 

The Yantic sailed from the New York navy-yard June 13, carrying 
Lieutenant Garlington and his party (except Sergeant Wall) as passengers, 
and arrived at Saint John's on the 21st, where the relief party transferred 
to the Proteus. Whilst at Saint John's Lieut. J. C. Colwell, United States 
Navy, at his own request, strongly supported by Lieutenant Garlington^ 
was detailed for service with the relief expedition, and reported for duty 
accordingly on the 23d of June. 

Previous to leaving New York Lieutenant Garlington applied for au- 
thority to precede the party to Saint John's, to personally superintend the 
stowing of the cargo of the Proteus, but this was denied him by the Chief 
Signal Officer, who had dispatched Sergeant Wall (one of Garlington's 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 255 

party) for this purpose. Upon reaching Halifax, Wall, claiming to have 
been seriously injured by accident, left the ship upon which he was a pas- 
senger, and returned to the United States, and the important duty with 
which he had been intrusted was not performed by any one connected 
with the relief expedition. In consequence of this Lieutenant Garlington 
was ignorant concerning the manner and place in which his stores had 
been stowed. He endeavored to remedy this after joining the ship, by 
breaking out and restowing the cargo, but was only partially successfuL 
Amongst other important stores which he failed to find were the arms and 
ammunition which had been provided for the party. 

The Proteus, with a total crew of twenty-two men, sailed from Saint 
John's on the 29th of June, in company with the Yantic, but the two 
ships soon separated, the former reaching Godhavn on the evening of 
July 6, whilst the latter did not arrive there until the 12th. 

Esquimo dogs to the number of twenty-two w^ere taken on board the 
Proteus at Godhavn on the 14th, and upon the clearing up of the weather 
she sailed from there on the 16th, intending to stop at a point about fifteen 
miles up Disco' Fiord, to get another Esquimo, whose services had been 
engaged. The ship got aground two hours after leaving Godhavn, and 
received some slight injury to her main injection-pipe, which was soon 
repaired, however. She soon got clear of the bottom, and a whale-boat^ 
with Lieutenant Garlington in charge, and accompanied by Lieutenant 
Colwell, with a crew made up from Lieutenant Garlington's party, went 
in to get the Esquimo, returning to the ship at 4 p. m., and the voyage 
was at once resumed. The ship encountered some difficulty in getting 
through Melville Bay, but reached Southeast Carey Island on the 21st 
July, where Lieutenant Garlington landed and examined the cache left 
by the Nares expedition in 1875. Pandora Harbor was reached at 6 
a. m. on the 22d, and Lieutenant Garlington landed there to leave a 
record. At this time "the weather was perfect — calm, warm, delight- 
ful, and the hills were green with the pretty flowering moss of those 
regions, with occasional patches of grass of luxuriant growth. There 
was no ice as far as could be seen from the crow's nest with the aid 
of a very powerful telescope." Lieutenant Garlington, under the press- 
ure of the opening paragraphs of his instructions, determined to take ad- 
vantage of the auspicious circumstances to push forward to Cape Prescott. 
At 9.45 a. m. they passed Littleton Island without stopping, everything 
still remaining favorable ; but at 11.30 a. m. the ship was alongside the 
ice, which then presented an unbroken front. Lieutenant Garlington then 
decided to go to Cape Sabine " to examine cache there, leave records, and 
await further developments." They reached Payer Harbor at 3.30 p. m., 
made a landing, and expected to remain there long enough to get a set of 
observations. Lieutenant Garlington went in person to search for the cache 
of 1882, and after finding it, put some men at work to place the cache in 
better condition, meanwhile going himself to higher ground, whence he 
saw open lanes of water leading to the northward. He returned to the ship 
at 6.30 p. m., informed the master of the Proteus of what he had observed 
from the shore, and requested him to get under way. Captain Pike replied 
that he would like to remain in the harbor awhile to fill his bunkers with 
coal (from the store on board) and get some fresh water. Lieutenant Garling- 
ton tendered him the men of the relief party to assist in moving coal, and 



256 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF i'nQUIRY. 

with this assistance the ship was gotten under way about 8 p. m., and passed 
out of the harbor. At this time Lieutenant Col well, at the request of Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, went into the crow's nest with the mate of the vessel, and 
remained there until she was stopped by ice at about 10.30 or 1 1 p. m., about 
"4 miles from Cape Albert, and about 600 yards from the open water," 
" Captain Pike thought the ship could be forced through " by ramming, 
and succeeded in accomplishing " about half the distance," when that process 
ceased to effect anything. About midnight the attempt at this point was 
given up, and a lead tried more to the eastward, with fair progress up to 2 
a. m. on the 23d of July, when the ship became jammed and unable to move 
in any direction, being then only 200 yards from open water. At 5 a. m. 
the ice immediately in front separated, and the ship was " in the open water 
which had been in her immediate front the night before." " On arriving 
wathin 4 miles of Cape Albert " * * * " the open lane of water seen 
the night before had disappeared," and its place was occupied by the solid 
pack. 

" The attempt to proceed north was then relinquished for the time, and the 
ship was turned to the southward to make its way out of the pack." She 
'' proceeded in this direction until 11 a. m., when the ice closed in, and 
effectually checked further progress. The ship was held here until 1 p. 
m.; the ice was much broken, and there was no danger of a ' nip.'" As 
soon as possible she started again, "and made good progress for some time, 
by frequently changing course and following the most favorable leads." 
* * * "About 2.45 p. m. the ship was brought to a standstill within 
400 yards of open water, and movement in any direction was impossible. 
She was lying east and west. The ice in front and along the crack we 
were following immediately began to show signs of enormous pressure. 
The ship was in a most dangerous situation," and it was realized that 
she would be " nipped." The men of the relief party were quietly called 
and put " to work getting stores ready to be thrown on the ice at the first 
evidence of the ship sustaining serious injury. * * * The pressure 
against the ship's sides was incalculable ; the heavy ice, from 5 to 7 feet in 
thickness, as it came against her sides under this powerful strain, broke 
and rafted up on the floe amidships and astern, but still there were no 
signs of giving way. * * * At 4.30 p. m. the starboard rail gave w^ay 
with a crash." 

At this time Lieutenant Garlington was in the " main hold " with part 
of his detachment getting out provisions ; another detail, under Sergeant 
Kenney, was in the " fore peak," getting out the prepared depots. Lieu- 
tenant Colwell came to the main hatch, and informed Lieutenant Garling- 
ton that the bulwarks had given away, and was directed to look after get- 
ting the boats clear. Sergeant Kenney reported the depots on deck. Al- 
most immediately thereafter there was a loud crash ; the ice had forced its 
way through the ship's side into the starboard coal-bunker ; "the planks 
began to rise, and seams to open out." The men were set to work throw- 
ing provisions overboard, and all the stores on deck were thus disposed of, 
but nearly one-third were lost by falling too near the ship, and for that 
reason drawn under. At 6.50 p. m. all hands finally left the ship. At 
7.15 p. m. she began to sink, and slowly passed out of sight on an even 
keel. 

A detailed statement of what occurred is given in lieutenant Garling- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 257 

ton's report of October 2, 1883, which is sworn to by himself, and corrob- 
orated by Lieutenant Colwell, and from which the foregoing quotations 
are made. (Page 199. Appendix.) 

By 12 m. on the 24th July all hands were on the rocks at Cape Sabine, 
but the prime object of the relief expedition had been defeated. It only 
remained for Lieutenant Garlington to determine what he should do un- 
der these unforeseen and unprovided for circumstances. 

On the 25th, while still at Cape Sabine, Lieutenant Colwell suggested 
to Lieutenant Garlington that he (Colwell) take a boat with a picked crew, 
and lightly equipped start south, with a view of comniunicating with the 
Yantic at the earliest moment possible, e^ipecting that she would then 
make a more determined effort to cross Melville Bay than she was likely 
to do under her instructions. This suggestion was not adopted by Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, and at 3.20 p. m. the boats were launched, and leaving 
about 500 rations and a record cached in the vicinity of Cape Sabine the 
party started across Smith's Sound. 

The boats separated in the fog, and at 12 p. m. those containing the re- 
lief party reached a small cove on the east side of the sound, just above 
Life-Boat Cove. It rained and snowed all night, but cleared up in the 
morning, and the boats left for Pandora Harbor, stopping at Littleton 
Island to leave a record of the loss of the Proteus and the condition of the 
relief party. They reached Pandora Harbor at 7.50 p. m., and found 
there the crew of the Proteus. Lieutenant Garlington deposited a record, 
and being detained by fog until 4.45 p. m. of the 28th of July, then left 
Pandora Harbor for the southward, heading for Northumberland Island, 
which was reached at 7.10 p. m. on the 29th, where the party was detained 
by stress of weather until 4.40 p. m. on the 30th. Reaching a point 7 
miles north of Cape Parry on the morning of the 31st, further progress 
was delayed for two days by a heavy storm. Unfortunately, this storm pre- 
vented an attempt to land at Carey Island, as originally intended, where 
the Yantic stopped at 9.30 p. m., of August 2, whilst the retreating party 
left their camp north of Cape Parry at 8.30 a. m. of the same day, and at 
9.20 p. m. — coincident with the Yantic's visit to Southeast Carey Island — 
landed at Saunders' Island, about 40 miles east of Southeast Carey Island. 
It is very evident that if the weather had permitted the retreating party to 
go to Carey Island the Yantic would have been intercepted there. 

From this point the retreating party and the Yantic moved in oppo- 
site directions, and it is unnecessary to follow the details of the journey of 
the former, which are fully given in the reports of Lieutenants Garlington 
and Colwell. 

On the 16th August, at 1 p. m.. Lieutenant Colwell, with the second 
whale-boat, separated from the other boats a short distance south of Cape 
York, under instructions from Lieuteudnt Garlington to proceed to God- 
havn and endeavor to communicate with the Yantic. He reached there 
at 8.30 a. m., August 31 : found the Yantic in the harbor, and at once 
boarded her, reporting the state of affairs to Commander Wildes, who got 
his ship under way at 6.30 p. m. for Upernavik, where he arrived on the 
morning of September 2, and took 'on board the remainder of the retreat- 
ing party, which had reached Upernavik at 11.30 a. m. on the 24th of 
August. 

S. Ex. 100 17 



258 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

After the Proteus left the Yantic, at GoclhavD, on the 16th July, the 
latter vessel was cletaineol until the morning of the 21st, when she sailed 
for Ritenbank, and during the rest of the day, and the early morning of 
the 22d, took onboard 20 tons of coal. She left Ritenbank at 11 a. m. of 
the 22d, for the Kurllisit coal-mine, where she arrived at 6 p. m. During^ 
the 25th, and until 4 p. m. of the 26th, she was eugaged in taking on board 
30 tons of coal, a portion of which was, during this time, mined by her 
crew. This was all it was deemed safe to attempt to carry. 

At 6 p. m. of the 26th the Yantic sailed for Upernavik and reached 
there at 10 p. m. of the 27th, where she was detained by fog until noon of 
the 31st. She then left for the north with fine weather and fair wind ; 
passed close to the Duck Islands at 2 a. m. August 1, and at 1 a. m. Gape 
York was sighted. At 9.30 p. m., August 2, she reached Southeast Carey 
Island, where a landing was made and a record found stating that the Pro- 
teus had arrived there at 3 p. m., July 21. An hour later the Yantic pro- 
ceeded northw^ard ; passed Hakluyt Island at 2 a. m. August 3. At 10.30 
a. m. the ship was on the western side of Smith Sound and within 12 miles 
of Cape Isabella. She was then headed for Cape Alexander, and reached 
there at 1 p. m., when she continued up the coast to Littleton Island,, 
where Commander A¥ildes found Lieutenant Garlington's record of July 
26 detailing the loss of the Proteus, and the movements of his party, a& 
well as the quantity of stores left by him and others near Cape Sabine. 
No mention was made of the crew of the Proteus in this record, and 
Commander Wildes concluded that they were still at Cape Sabine. He 
therefore, notwithstanding his instructions directed him not to go north of 
Littleton Island, determined to make an effort to reach them. This was 
prevented by fog, and after depositing a record on Littleton Island he ran 
down to Pandora Harbor, where he anchored at 10 p. m. Here he found 
two records, one from Captain Pike of the Proteus and the other from 
Lieutenant Garlington. The former simply mentioned the fact of their 
presence in the harbor and the proposed movements of the crew, the latter 
stated that he had forty full days' rations, and that he would go south,, 
keeping close inshore and calling at Carey Islands to Cape York, &c. 

The Yantic was immediately gotten under way, and, passing Cape 
Alexander at midnight, ran down the coast to Cape Pobertson, within a 
mile of the beach, keeping a sharp lookout for cairns, boats, or men. 
Seeing nothing, she ran across Murchison Sound, skirted the north shore of 
Cumberland Island, and stood across to Hakluyt Island, which was closely 
examined. Finding nothing, she rounded the southern end and stood down 
the western shore of Northumberland Island, passing the southwest point 
at 10 a. m. on the 4th of August. Fog caused her to lay close under the 
clifPs until 6 p. m., when, the fog lifting, she stood across Whale Sound^ 
to a point 7 miles east of Cape Parry, reaching there at 8 p. m. 

The Yantic passed Cape Parry within half a mile, and ran a short dis- 
tance south of it, when the Carey Islands became visible, and she ran over 
to the southeast one of the group, arriving there at midnight, finding the 
records undisturbed, and nothing from the retreating party. 

Unwilling to leave this vicinity without further news of the retreating 
party. Commander Wildes then ran back to Hakluyt Island, and made 
further examination of the eastern shore, and then around the northern 
and eastern shores of Northumberland Island, passing the southeast point 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 259 

at noon of August 5, and running across Whale Sound to a point 12 miles 
east of Cape Parry, and close along shore to that point. 

Depositing a record at Cape Parry he rounded it and proceeded south- 
ward, arriving at a point 5 miles northwest of Saunders Island at 8 p. ra. 
The ice ahead and to the westward now compelled him to run off shore 
in a west-southwest direction, but he soon closed with the pack, and every- 
thing being unpromising, he returned to Whale Sound seeking an anchor- 
age. Missing Bardin Bay, and seeing the passage between Northumber- 
land and Herbert Islands through the mist. Commander Wildes rounded 
the southeast end of the former and anchored at 5.30 a. m., August 6. 
The same evening remains of a recent camp were found on the island, 
and the remains of another were found next day. 

Being now certain that the retreating party was south of him. Com- 
mander Wildes felt no doubt about proceeding south as soon as the ice 
would permit. 

The conditions being favorable on the 9th, a cairn was made on the 
island, and at 3 p. m. the ship rounded the northern end of Northumber- 
land Island, and stood to the south to continue the Search. 

At 10 p. m. the pack was encountered, and, without entering it, the 
ship was kept moving in a circle until the weather cleared sufficiently to 
permit a glimpse of Southeast Carey Island, when she was headed for it, but 
a second examination failed to furnish any trace of the retreating party. She 
was then headed for Cape York, the ice preventing a nearer approach to Cape 
Dudley Digges than about 20 miles. 

At noon of the 10th August the conditions were such as to plainly in- 
dicate to Commander Wildes the propriety of proceeding southward to 
Upernavik as rapidly as practicable, and the ship was headed for that 
port, which she reached on the 12th. Here he chartered a launch, and 
sent it with fifteen days' supplies for thirty-seven men to Tessuisak, with 
arrangements for the dispatch of a whale-boat to Cape Shackleton to await 
the arrival of the retreating party. 

On the 14th the fires of the Yantic were hauled, under the determina- 
tion of Commander Wildes to remain at Upernavik until the season was 
well advanced, unless the retreating party arrived earlier. But the ship 
was subjected to so much annoyance and even danger from drifting ice- 
bergs (of comparatively small size) that on the 22d August — the short 
summer of this high latitude being then at an end — she proceeded to the 
Kudlisit coal cliffs, in Waigat Straits, after having arranged with Governor 
Elborg for the transportation of Lieutenant Garlington to Disco, provided 
he reached Upernavik before the middle of September, and with the full 
assurance from the governor that he could take care of the whole party 
through the winter, should they arrive after that time. 

After remaining at the coal cliffs four days, during which she took on 
board 50 tons of coal, the Yantic reached Godhavn on the 28th August. 
Here, at 9 a. m. on the 31st, she was joined by Lieutenant Colwell, and 
after taking on board 6 tons of coal, sailed in the afternoon for Upernavik, 
where she arrived on the morning of September 2 and took on board the 
remainder of the retreating party. Obtaining 6 tons coal, she left for 
Saint John's under sail. On the 11th when 250 miles from that port, she 
was put under steam, and reached Saint John's at 10 a. m., September 13. 



260 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

January 14, 1884—11 a. m. 

The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. 

The court proceeded to deliberate, and, after continuing in deliberation 
until 3 o'clock, adjourned until to-morrow afternoon at 1 o'clock. 



January 15, 1884 — 1 p. m. 
The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, all the members and 
the recorder. 

The court directed the following statement to be entered of record : 

On the 26tli of November last the court, at the request of the Chief 
Signal Officer of the Army, forwarded, through the proper channels, to 
the United States consul at Saint tJohn's, N. F., a series of interroga- 
tories (of which a copy is attached to this record), for the purpose of 
obtaining the testimony of Mr. Molloy, the consul, and others in re- 
sponse to the care and eflPorts of General Hazen in the outfit of the Proteus 
expedition of 1883. While the court was advised by a telegram from the 
consul to the Adjutant-General that depositions of the witnesses named in 
the interrogatories were mailed on the 29th ultimo in the steamship Coban 
for New York Citv, and while the Signal Office advised the court that 
that steamship arrived in New York on the 9th instant, nothing further 
has been heard of the depositions. 

As the subject-matter of those depositions has been otherwise fully in- 
vestigated, so far as necessary for the ends of this inquiry, the court de- 
termines not to wait further for the testimony in question, but to proceed 
to its findings (requesting, however, that if the depositions should here- 
after be received that they may be printed and bound up with the record 
of this court and the appendix thereto.)* 

The court reports the facts developed by this inquiry as stated in the 
last printed pages from the proceedings of the 12th instant, on page 251 
to the end of page 259, and presents further its findings and conclusions 
as follows: 

THE ORGANIZATION AND FITTING OUT OF THE RELIEF EXPEDITION. 

The organization of the expedition is regarded as originating in a plan 
submitted by the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of War, November 
1, 1882. (Page 88 of Appendix.) The suggestion that its j^ersowie/ should 
be obtained from the Navy, which the Secretary of War made to the Chief 
Signal Officer on the same day (page 89, Appendix), was, as has already 
been stated, strongly advised against by the Chief Signal Officer, who re- 
ported that the control of the business should be left with his office. He 
stated that — 

To manage it with a mixed control, or even with mixed arms of the service under 
a single control, would be hazardous, and such action is strongly advised against by 
the many persons of both Army and Navy I have discussed the subject with. The 
ready knowledge of boats and instruments is but a very small part of the indispensa- 
ble requisites in this case. This whole work has required a great deal of attention 
and study from the first, &c. (Page 89, Appendix.) 

* Dejposition number 47 will be found on page 243 of the Appendix. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 261 

The knowledge and skill of mariners, always desirable in maritime ex- 
peditions under ordinary conditions, were all the more essential when the 
question concerned the navigation of seas rendered especially difficult and 
perilous because of Arctic ice. . There could have been nothing anticipated 
in the nature of the service to be performed in the Arctic regions, either on 
the ice or on the land, which could not be as well accomplished by seamen 
as by landsmen, and their superiority when on their accustomed element 
must be manifest. 

Under the great emergencies likely to arise during Arctic service the ad- 
vantages of strict discipline are beyond question. These would have been! 
secured in the naval service quite as well as in any other. 

For the foregoing reasons- it would have been wiser for the Chief Sign a 
Officer to have consented, not only that the men to be sent on this errand 
should be seamen of the Navy, but that the vessel conveying them should 
sail under the American flag and naval discipline. 

While General Hazen, in November, 1882, deprecated the idea of a 
mixed control of the two branches of the national forces, in May follow- 
ing he applied for, and was glad to obtain, the assistance of a naval vessel 
to accompany the one which he chartered ; but at that late date, when 
no vessel fitted for service in the ice was to be had, he could only ask for 
such company on that part of the voyage where it was least needed. 

The next step in the enterprise was to obtain an appropriation, and the 
duty of asking for money devolved in the first instance upon the Chief 
Signal Officer, who limited his estimate, however, to the smallest amount 
that would be necessary, on account, as he says, of the indisposition of 
Congress to appropriate freely for his branch of the service. But it is 
the opinion of the .court that such a disposition, even if known to exist, 
did not relieve him from the responsibility of devising adequate measures 
of relief, and of making known to the national legislature what would be 
required to carry them into effect, leaving to that body to determine 
whether all or only a portion of the funds asked for should be granted. 

In view of the vital importance of the enterprise, two vessels fitted for 
service in the Arctic regions should have been asked for. 

As to the 'personnel. More than one commissioned officer should have 
been provided for a command that it was conterajslated might alone, and 
independent of all other visible control, have to occupy a station so re- 
mote and isolated as that at Life-Boat Cove, and perform a service so 
important as that intrusted to it, of saving the lives of comrades in a still 
more remote and less-known region. 

The outfit of the expedition, so far as sledges, tents, and other mate- 
rials, provisions, &c., are concerned, appears to have been managed with 
commendable judgment, energy, and care. The selection of the steam 
sealer Proteus, with her master, seems to have been as good as practicable 
from vessels of her class. They had the convincing recommendation of 
having performed a similar duty with marked success ; in carrying Lieu- 
tenant Greely and his party to Lady Franklin Bay in 188L Previous to 
chartering her, the vessel, its machinery and appurtenances, were inspected 
by a naval officer, who accompanied the Chief Signal Officer to Saint John'* 
for that purpose. Some question has been raised in evidence as to the fitness 
of her boats ; but as these boats brought the ship's company back in safety on 
the perilous journey from the scene of the wreck to Upernavik, it is thought 



262 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

that they must have been better than they seemed to be to some of the 
witnesses. The crew was also charged with irregular and disorderly acts 
and expressions, but as this alleged misconduct occurred subsequent to the 
loss of the Proteus, and did not in the least .affect the result of the expe- 
dition, the court has not felt bound to i^econcile or scrutinize too closely 
the testimony on this point, and only remarks that the conflict of testi- 
mony probably arises from differences of opinion formed from different 
stand-points, or from the different maritime customs of different services 
and countries. 

It is considered by the court to have been extremely fortunate for the 
expeditionary force that the one officer sent with it, and who commanded 
was so ably aided and supported by the services of Lieut. J. C. Colwell, 
United States Navy, who volunteered for a duty so much more severe and 
perilous than that to which he had been regularly assigned on board a naval 
vessel, and who brought to the duty he assumed so much capacity, courage, 
and special knowledge. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOE THE EXPEDITION. 

The history of the instructions of the Chief Signal Officer to Lieutenant 
Garliugton, as commander of the expedition of 1883, involves some refer- 
ence to the instructions to the original expedition of 1881, under command 
of Lieutenant Greely, and to the latter officer's directions contained in his 
letter under date of August 17, 1881, from Lady Franklin Bay. So far 
as all these relate to the question of the relief or rescue of Lieutenant 
Greely, they may briefly be stated as follows : 

The instructions from the office of the Chief Signal Officer, dated June 
17, 1881, page 7, Appendix, provides: 

It is contemplated that the permanent station, shall be visited in 1882 and 1883 by 
a steam sealer or other vessel, by which supplies for and such additions to the present 
party as are deemed needful will be sent. 

In case such vessel is unable to reach Lady Franklin Bay in 1882, she will cache a 
portion of her supplies and all of her letters and dispatches, at the most northerly 
point she attains on the east coast of Griunell Land, and establish a small depot of 
supplies at Littleton Island. Notices of the locality of sach depots will be left at one 
or all of the following places, viz : Caj)e Hawks, Cape Sabine, and Cape Isabella. 

In case no vessel reaches the permanent station in 1882, the vessel sent in 1883 will 
remain in Smith's Sound until there is danger of its closing by ice, and on leaving 
will land all her supplies and a party at Littleton Island, which party will be pre- 
pared for a winter's stay, and will be instructed to send sledge parties up the east side 
of Grinnell Land to meet this party. If not visited in 1882, Lieutenant Greely will 
abandon his station not later than September 1, 1883, and will retreat southward by 
boat, following closely the east coast of Grinnell Land until the relieving vessel is met 
or Littleton Island is reached. 

The Chief Signal Officer testifies that the above provisions were adopted 
with the concurrence of Lieutenant Greely, who himself probably wrote 
the foregoing paragraphs. 

It is quite evident that they are substantially identical with the direc- 
tions which he gave in his letter of August 17, 1881, for the measures to 
be taken for his relief. In that letter he asked that "in case the vessel to 
be sent in 1882 cannot reach this point (Lady Franklin Bay), a very 
possible contingency, a dej)ot, A, of about ten days' rations of food for 
his party; a whale boat and an eighth of a cord of wood should be made 
at the farthest prominent point to the north on the coast of Grinnell's 
Land, which the vessel might reach. 2d, that a similar depot, B, should 



PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 263 

be made at Littleton Island, and a notice of such depot having been nif de 
placed at Cape Sabine. 3d, that a second boat should be left at Cape 
Prescott." 

Regarding the mail to be brought by the expedition of 1882, he re- 
quested (page 213, Appendix): 

The letters and dispatches should all be carefully soldered up in a tin case, and then 
boxed (at Saint John's) and marked or put in a well-strapped, water-tigbt keg; and 
should be left with depot A, if such depot shall be at or north or in plain sight of 
Cape Hawks, and the newspapers and periodicals left at Littleton Island. If depot A 
is not so far north, the letters and all mail should be returned to the United States. 
After making depot B, at Littleton Island, the vessel should, if possible, leave a rec- 
ord of its proceedings at Cape Sabine. 

For 1883 he requested : 

If the party does not reach here in 1882, there should be sent in 1883 a capable* 
•energetic officer, with ten (10) men, eight of whom should have had practical sea ex- 
perience, provided with three whale-boats and ample provisions for forty (40) per- 
sons for fifteen months. The list of all provisions taken by me this year would an- 
swer exceedingly well. In case the vessel was obliged to turn southward (she should 
not leave. Smith's Sound near Cape Sabine before September 1.5), it should leave dupli- 
cates of depots A and B of 1882 at two different points, one of which should be be- 
tween Cape Sabine and Bache Island, the other to be an intermediate depot between 
two depots already established. Similar rules as to indicating locality should be in- 
sisted ou. Thus, the Grinnell Laud coast would be covered with seven depots of ten 
days' i)rovisions in less than 300 miles, not including the two months' supplies at Cape 
Hawks. 

The party should then proceed to establish a winter station at Polaris Winter Quar- 
ters, Life- boat Cove, where their main duty would be to keep their telescopes on Cape 
Sabine and the land to the northward. They should have lumber enough for house 
and observatory, fifty tons of coal, and complete meteorological and magnetic outfit. 
Being furnished with dogs, sledges, and a native driver, a party of at least six (6) men 
should proceed, when practicable, to Cape Sabine, whence a sledge party northward, 
of two best fitted men, should reach Cape Hawks, if not Cape Collinson. Such ac- 
tion, from advice, experience, and observation, seems to me all that can be done to 
insure our safety. No deviation from these instructions should be permitted. Lati- 
tude of action should not be given to a relief party, who, on a known coast, are search- 
ing for men who know their plans and orders. 

The intention indicated in this letter to retreat in 1883 to Life-boat 
Cove, near Littleton Island via Cape Sabine was also foreshadowed by 
Lieutenant Greely in his letter of date two days previous, August 15, in 
which he says : 

I feel it here proper to state that in my opinion a retreat from here southward to 
Cape Sabine, in case no vessel reaches us in 1882 and 1883, will be safe and practic- 
able. 

This being the plan projected by Lieutenant Greely for the relief of his 
own party, the Chief Signal Officer, in the spring of 1882, directed Mr. 
Beebe, who was in charge of the expedition of that year, to establish de- 
pots A and B, as directed by Lieutenant Greely : 

You will observe [says Mr. Beebe's orders] that these depots are to be established 
only in the event that it is impossible to reach Lieutenant Greely ; the supplies there- 
fore under ordinary circumstances will all go to Lady Franklin Bay, and these stores 
which are needed to establish depots A and B are included. 

Accordingly, Mr. Beebe fulfilled these instructions in the manner al- 
ready stated in the report of the facts developed. 

His failure to accomplish anything of importance rendered more im- 
perative a vigorous effort in 1883 for the relief Mr. Greely. 

It will be seen from the Chief Signal Officer's letter of November 1, 
1882, that his controlling idea in regard to any plan of relief was that 



264 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Lieutenant Greely's directions should be followed. He submits in that 
letter — 

A plan which Lieutenant Greely wished followed in the event of a failure to reach 
Mm this year, 1882. This seems to leave us only to follow his plans. 

Yet General Hazen has testified that he has regretted ever since the re- 
turn of the expedition of 1882 that its commander, Mr. Beebe, had not 
been instructed to deposit the bulk of his stores at Cape Sabine, instead 
of bringing them back to Saint John's, IST. F., as he did under Lieuten- 
ant Greely's plan. 

And Captain Clapp, Sixteenth Infantry, who was in charge in the Sig- 
nal Office until relieved by Lieutenant Garlington in February last, of the 
Division of Arctic Research and charged with the duty of drafting the 
instructions of Lieutenant Garlington, testifies that, impressed by the dan- 
.gers from which the Neptune, the relief ship of 1882, had escaped, be 
urged upon General Hazen the advisability of depositing the stores for the 
winter station on the northward voyage before the ship should encounter 
the heavy ice of Smith's Sound. 

He advised that' the station should be made near Cape Sabine on the 
west coast, wdiich, while involving a deviation from Lieutenant Greely's 
plan, would be a departure only in the direction of greater safety. 

General Hazen, however, insisted upon a strict and literal conformity 
to the requests of Lieutenant Greely. He testifies that his objection to- 
making a depot on the west coast was that Lieutenant Greely might take 
a different route to his objective point — Life-boat Cove on the east coast of 
the Sound. And to the project generally, of making the depot on the way 
north instead of after it should be ascertained that the vessel could not 
penetrate the ice and reach Lady Franklin Bay, his objection was that this 
might involve the delay necessary for unloading the vessel. 

The desirability of making a depot before the ice of Smith's Sound 
should be entered, was also apparent to Lieutenant Caziarc, Acting Signal 
Officer, whose duties in the office were similar to those of an adjutant. He 
prepared a memorandum of such a scheme, which was shown or explained 
to Lieutenant Garli)igton, whose objection was that the stores might be 
needed at Lady Franklin Bay, or at some intermediate point between that 
and Littleton Island, where the ship might be detained in the ice. 

The expedition took supplies for 15 months for 40 men — the combined 
force of Lieutenant Greely's and Lieutenant Garlington's parties ; but the 
latter was advised in his letter of instructions that Lieutenant Greely's 
supplies would be exhausted in that fall. Hence Lieutenant Garlington, 
having no other information on this point, was reluctant to proceed to 
Lady Franklin Bay, leaving behind him any considerable proportion of 
the stores intrusted to him. 

In reference to the amount of provisions at Lady Franklin Bay, General 
Hazen has presented to the court lists showing that Lieutenant Greely 
was fully provisioned in the summer of 1881 for over three years ; and 
the Chief Signal Officer is unable to account for the previous statement on 
this subject in the instructions, except by supposing it to be a clerical error. 
Captain Clapp, who prepared the rough draft of the instructions, testifies 
that the statement was made with the intention of being well within bounds 
after making allowances for possible loss and deterioration of supplies, and 
for those deposited en route. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 265- 

General Hazen testifies that he long entertained the idea of ordering a 
large depot to be made on the way north, but abandoned it upon obtaining 
a naval consort to the Proteus, which he regarded as a substitute for such 
a depot. 

The idea was, nevertheless, embodied in an unsigned memorandum 
placed with other papers in the packet containing the instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, and which that officer, shortly before his departure 
from Washington to take command, received from Lieutenant Caziarc, in 
the Signal (Office. The history of this paper, described in evidence as 
Memorandum No. 4, and which is important as having some time been 
supposed or assumed in the Signal Office to contain a supplementary order 
to Lieutentant Garlington, may be here briefly stated. 

Respecting the exact point or points of time when it was prepared and 
copied, and through whose hands it passed, there is the diversity of recol- 
lection between various witnesses that commonly attends matters of this 
kind when not made the subject of official record, but the material facts 
are established as follows : 

On the 14th day of May the Secretary of War transmitted and recom- 
mended to the Secretary of the Navy the Chief Signal Officer's request 
for a naval tender. 

On the 20th the Secretary of the Navy sent for Captain Powell, Sixth 
Infantry, then in charge of the office (in the absence of General Hazen, 
who had gone to Saint John's, N. F., to consummate the chartering of the 
Proteus), and inquired what exactly was wanted of the Navy Department, 
telling Captain Powell, in substance, that the Signal Office must explic- 
itly state its requests and see that the instructions respecting the tender 
should conform to the necessities of the case, so that there should be no 
occasion for any eventual division of responsibility respecting an enter- 
prise which belonged to the War Department, and not to the Navy Depart- 
ment, whose part was only auxiliary. 

Captain Powell thereupon telegraphed General Hazen one of the Sec- 
retary's questions : 

What it was desired should be the northern limits of the voyage [of the Navy 
ships] and to ovitline instructions. 

Two telegrams were received from Halifax in reply : 

Tender to go to the southern limits of the ice pack ; to leave Saint John's about 
July 1. 

And again : 

Will be back about June 2 ; hold all instructions till I come ; tender to be at Saint 
John's, say, June 25. 

Soon after this interview with the Secretary Captain Powell requested 
Lieutenant Caziarc to prepare a memorandum for the use of the Navy 
Department in drafting instructions for the naval part of the expedition. 

Lieutenant Caziarc prepared the memorandum and showed it to Cap- 
tain Powell, who took no further action than to have all the papers col- 
lected to await General Hazen's return, which was on the 4th of June,, 
when he signed Lieutenant Garlington's instructions. 

General Hazen testifies that he was informed that such a memorandum 
had been prepared during his absence, but does not think he saw it or had 
it in his hands until it was shown to him by Lieutenant Garlington when: 
the latter received a copy of it with his instructions. 



266 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Lieutenant Caziarc states that he understood from General Hazen that 
lie had taken the copy prepared for the IS^avy to that Department and 
Lieutenant-Commander McCalla saw a copy in the Bureau of Navigation, 
where the instructions to the commander of the Yantic were being pre- 
pared , 

The Secretary of the Navy, however, states that he did not see it, and 
it is clear that it was not intended by General Hazen to be officially sub- 
mitted by the Chief Signal Officer to the Navy Department as a basis for 
any action on its part. On the contrary, he testifies that he never intended 
it to be used in that Department. Indeed, its most material and pregnant 
suggestion, that a large depot should be made on the northward voyage, 
did not concern the Navy at all, being intended solely for the guidance of 
the expedition in the Proteus. This suggestion is contained in these words : 

The Proteus to land lier stores, except supplies for more northerly depots, at Little- 
ton Island on her way north. 

General Hazen's account of this paper, in his letter of October 16 last, 
transmitting Lieutenant Garlington's report to the Secretary of War, is as 
follows : 

The question of supplementary orders that Mr. Garlington refers to as having been 
raised, and in unfairness to himself, is in substance correctly stated by him. 

After Lieutenant Greely arrived in Lady Franklin Bay, in 1881, he wrote out and 
sent to this office full directions for the party that might be sent to relieve him, end- 
ing as follows: "No deviation from these instructions should be permitted. Lati- 
tude of action should not be given to a relieving party who, on a known coast, are 
searching for meu who know their plans and orders." This made it a matter of great- 
est delicacy to give any directions that might in any manner change the programme 
there marked out. Congress had afterguards, however, added another element to the 
question, in this, that the party should be brought away this summer. This at first 
caused the instructions to be determined upon that the stores be landed at Littleton 
Island before going north of that point. 

Afterwards it was arranged to send a ship of the United States Navy with the 
-Proteus as a convoy, and this so far obviated the absolute necessity of first stop- 
ping to unload at Littleton Island, the convoy itself being a depot, that it was thought 
best that Lieutenant Greely's directions should remain as Lieutenant Garlington's 
guide, and that it be suggested only that the landing be first made. Just before start- 
ing, Lieutenant Garlington brought a copy of a memorandum that had been prepared 
for the Secretary of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions to the convoy, which 
contained the original condition of first lauding at Littleton Island, explaining that 
it would conflict with the plans of Lieutenant Greely so far as it should consume the 
time of the expedition, and in case he should find clear weather and open water be- 
yond, with a fair prospect of getting straight through, while by stopping he might 
lose the opportunity, if he should not at once proceed. I replied that the authority 
and discretion which must always rest with the commander on the spot must in such 
case be his guide. The great delicacy in imposing positive instructions in cases like 
this seemed to make the simple suggestion in that paper suificiont. The strictures 
upon Lieutenant Garlington, so far as they refer to the question of disobedience, have 
been unwarranted. 

General Hazen testifies, page 25 of the record, that Mr. Garlington 
brought to him — 

his packet of orders, aud in that packet was the same memorandum. He, Lieutenant 
Garlington, expressed some surprise at finding it there, and asked me how it got there. 
I told him that I did not know. I told him it was no part of his orders, and then I 
gave him the history of the paper as I have given it here (in court). Mr. Garlington 
then showed me all his orders and I told him he must be controlled by the orders that 
I had given him, and also by the directions of Mr. Greely's letter on which they were 
founded ; that the letter of Mr. Greely, written as it was after he had arrived on the 
sjjot, was law to me, aud that I did not feel I was authorized to change that order or 
give him any orders that would conflict with it. I told him, also, that when on the 
spot he must exercise in all matters that discretion which every distant commander 
.must exercise, which reposes in him by virtue of his office. I told him he had my 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 267 

full coufideDce, and I expected him to exercise his discretion in matters as they would 
develop themselves on the spot. 

# ^ ^ J* * * * 

After Congress, last winter, had psased a law requiring that Mr. Greely's expedition 
he brought back this year, and before a second ship or a convoy was thought of, it 
seemed to me that it would be necessary for the expedition going up to vary the 
Greely instructions so far as to laud at Littleton Island, and laud the stores. 

That ])lau was thought of a great deal, and it was discussed a great deal, as was 
the plan also of making the depot on the west side of Smith's Sound. But after it 
was arranged to send a tender, that of itself would be a depot, there being also several 
small depots along the coast. I determined to revert strictly to the Greely memo- 
randa, and after that I did so. (Attention is invited to the full testimony on that 
point, page 26, record. ) 

This memorandum acquired a subsequent importance, however, from 
the fact that a copy of it was recorded in the Signal Office as an inclosure 
to Lieutenant Garlington's instructions, and immediately after the report 
of the disaster to the Proteus was first received in the United States, a 
■copy of the document was furnished the public press as a supplementary 
instruction, or an inclosure (No. 4) to the orders to the commander of the 
■expedition. 

The court deeming it proper to inquire into this matter received a good 
deal of testimony on the subject, from which it appears that Lieutenant 
Garlington's instructions were accompanied by papers not referred to in 
the body of the instructions themselves, as well as by others that were 
designated by letters or figures in that body. In the first category was 
the charter party of the Proteus, which it had been intended to mark and 
record as inclosure No. 4. When the office record was made (as it ap- 
pears) from rough notes and copies of the original (this method or want of 
metliod being, as it would appear, in consequence of haste and limited 
clerical assistance), no copy of the charter party was at hand, and instead 
of that paper the unsigned memorandum was by mistake recorded as in- 
closure No. 4. 

When the news of the disaster was received in Washington, the Chief 
Signal Officer was traveling under orders on the Pacific coast, and the 
officer temporarily in charge was unfamiliar with the history of the expedi- 
tion, and had to depend upon the knowledge of Lieutenant Caziarc, who was 
in charge of the Records and Correspondence Division of the office. That 
officer remembered that he had given or sent to the Chief Signal Officer this 
memorandum with the instructions and their accompanying papers, and had 
received them back in the ordinary routine of the office without objection 
or remark, and had then handed them to Lieutenant Garlington, which 
was his last knowledge of the matter ; he not having been made acquainted 
by General Hazen, or any one else, with the General's subsequent conversa- 
tion with Lieutenant Garlington, above detailed. Lieutenant Caziarc ac- 
cordingly supposed that his memorandum had received the approbation of 
the Chief Signal Officer, and with his implied sanction had been given to 
Lieutenant Garlington to accompany the latter officer's instructions. 

Upon examination subsequently and reflection upon the fact that this 
paper was neither signed nor referred to in the body of the instructions, 
and especially as there was some literal conflict between them and the 
memorandum, he, Lieutenant Caziarc, concluded that it conveyed no order 
to Lieutenant Garlington. 

The subsequent action of the Signal Office in furnishing variant and 
imperfect copies of papers called for by the Secretary of War and the Sec- 



268 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OP INQUIRY. 

retaiy of the JSTavy (as referred to in letter of Secretary of War on page 
191, Appendix), was also investigated and was found to have been due 
partly to the error already stated in recording the memorandum and 
omitting the record of the charter-party, and partly to an honest endeavor 
to furnish in as brief a form as possible the precise information which, it 
was supposed was wanted at the particular moment. The court fully ex- 
onerates the officers of the Signal Service concerned from any disposition 
to misrepresent, suppress, or withhold any matter of record. 

To return to the official instructions of Lieutenant Garlington. Those 
material to this inquiry are as follows : 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 4, IS-^S. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, U. S. Army, 

Commanding relief vessel to Lady Franklin Bay : 

Sir: You are aware of the necessity of reaching Lieut. A. W. Greely and his party 
with the expedition of this year. Thi s necessity cannot be overestimated, as Lieutenant 
Greely's supplies will be exhausted during the coming fall, and unless the relief ship 
can reach him he will be forced with his party to retreat southward by land before 
the winter sets in. Such a retreat will involve hardship and the probable abandon- 
ment of much valuable public property', with possible loss of important; records and 
life. 

For these and other reasons which will occur to you no effort must be spared to pusli 
the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay. 

In the event of being obstructed by ice in Smith's Sound or Kennedy channel, you 
are advised to try totind a passage along the west coast, Avhich, besides being usually 
the most practicable, will afford better advantages for sighting and communicating 
with any party sent out bj- Lieutenant Greely, To make communication surer, yoirr 
party must be able to readily send and receive messages by flag or heliograph and 
other means, and the necessary articles should be kept in readiness for instant use 
when communication is possible. 

Should the vessel be unable to get through the ice to Lady Franklin Bay or to reach, 
the west coast at points above Cape Sabine, it will be of great importance that Lieu- 
tenant Greely should know of the efforts being made to relieve him, and of the plans 
for doing so. You will endeavor, therefore, to convey such intelligence and omit nO' 
means of informing him or any of his party of the situation. Should any landings be 
made at prominent points on either coast during the efforts to get through the ice, 
you will leave a short recoi'd of the fact, with such information as it is desirable to- 
convey, so deposited and marked as to render it discoverable by parties traveling 
southward. If such landings be made at points where caches of provisions are located, 
you will, if possible, examine them and replace any damaged articles of food, leaving, 
of course, a record of your action. 

If it should become clearly apparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through, 
you will retreat from your advanced position and land your party and stores at or 
near Life-Boat Cove, discharge the relief vessel with orders to return to Saint 
John's, N. F., and prejjare for remaining with your party until relieved next year. 
As soon as i^ossible after landing, or in case your vessel becomes unavoidably frozen 
up in the ice pack, you wit! endeavor to communicate with Lieutenant Greely by 
taking personal charge of a party of the most experienced and hardy men equipped 
for sledging, carrying such stores as is practicable to Cape Sabine, whence a smaller 
party more lightly equipped, still headed by yourself will push as far north as possible^ 
or until Lieutenant Greely's parry is met. In this and other matters you will follow 
closely the instructions of Lieutenant Greely, dated August 17, 1881, a j)rinted copy 
of which is furnished you herewith. (Inclosure I.) 

A ship of the United States Navy, the Yantic, will accompany you as far as Little- 
ton Island, rendering you such aid as may become necessary and as may be determined 
by the captain of that ship and yourself when on the spot. 

These instructions. Lieutenant Greely's letter of August 17, 1881, to- 
gether with some charts and notes of signal service work in the Arctic 
regions, were the material furnished by the Chief Signal Officer as the 
basis of the instructions to the commander of the Yantic. 

In the letter of the 14th of May, in which the Chief Signal Officer 



PKOCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 269 

asked for a ship of the Navy, it was stated that the ship would " not be 
required to euter the ice pack or encounter unusual danger." 

This limitation was made, as the Secretary of the Navy supposes, be- 
cause General Hazen had understood that the Navy could lend a vessel, 
but was not prepared to furnish an ice boat. 

Although General Hazen has testified that he regarded the sending of 
a naval tender as dispensing with the necessity that had been before recog- 
nized of landing stores at the entrance to Smith's Sound, yet the evidence 
is clear that no request was made by the Chief Signal Officer that the 
naval vessel should act as a depot or be provisioned M'ith a view to the 
relief of Lieutenant Greely's and Lieutenant Garlington's parties. Cap- 
tain Powell was asked whether it was so desired, and the Secretary of the 
Navy's recollection is distinct that the matter was afterward alluded to 
in his conversation with General Hazen. 

The latter officer explains his action by stating that he understood that 
the Yantic was to be amply and liberally provisioned, and as time was 
becoming an important element, while moreover, he regarded the order to 
the naval commander to render such aid as might be needed on the spot, 
as meeting all the necessities of the case, he forebore to make any specific 
requests that might involve further delay. 

The Secretary of the Navy testifies that he gave instructions early to 
Commodore Walker, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation — 

Notwithstanding no request was made from the Signal Office, to take the heavy 
weights (armament) off the ship and fill hernp with coal, and, also, specially to have 
a large supply of provisions put on board. 

The Yantic having arrived, May 22, in New York Harbor, the admiral 
of the fleet was instructed, May 31, by the Secretary of the Navy to send 
her to the navy-yard with orders to get ready for the service as soon as 
practicable. 

On the 2d of June the admiral instructed Commander Wildes to ask — 

The commandant of the yard to hasten your preparations and explain to him the 
urgency of the case. In making your preparations you will bear in mind that your 
vessel may be absent a long time from port and from depots of supplies, and that she 
may encounter severe and stormy weather and ice. 

General Hazen, having been interrogated as to the considerable delay be- 
tween the enactment of the appropriation, March 3, 1883, and the request 
in May, 1883, for a naval convoy, replied that it was not first contem- 
plated at all, and its necessity " did not force itself upon him " until that 
time. 

Such preparations as have been already stated, and as the brief period 
available admitted of, having been completed, the commander of the Yantic 
received his instructions, dated June 9 (see page 175, Appendix), as follows : 

Navy Departjient, 

TVashington, June 9, 1883. 
Sir: The steam sealer Proteus, Captain Pike, has been chartered by the Chief Sig- 
nal Oliicer of the Army to proceed to Smith's Sound and Kennedy Channel for the 
purpose of bringing to St. John's, N. F., Lieutenant Greeley, U. S. A., and the party 
under his command (about twenty in all, who have been stationed at Fort Conger, 
Lady Franklin Sound), for the past two years engaged in obtaining meteorological 
data for the use of the U. S. Signal Service. Lieutenant Greeley's party was con- 
veyed to Fort Conger by Captain Pike, in the Proteus, during the siimmer of 1881, 
and last summer *au unsuccessful effort was made in the steam sealer Neptune to com- 
municate with the above-mentioned officer. 



270 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

Inclosed herewith for your iuformation are copiesof a letter from Lieutenant Greely 
to the Chief Signal Officer, written after the arrival of the former at Fort Conger r 
"Work of the Signal Service in the Arctic regions ; " track chart of the steamer Nep- 
tune from Julj^ to September, 1882 ; iustrnctions to Lieutenant Greely, and instruc- 
tions to Lieutenant Garliugton, U. S. A., " commanding relief vessel to Lady Franklin 
Bay." 

An examination of these papers will acquaint you with the object of the relief ex- 
pedition and the importance of its success. You Avill, therefore, Avhen in all respects 
in readiness for sea, proceed with the vessel under your command to St. John's, New- 
foundland. 

After having tilled up with coal at St. John's, proceed to the northward, through 
Davis Straits, in company with the steamer Proteus, if practicable; but before leav- 
ing that ijort you will confer with Lieutenant Garliugton, and make arrangements- 
which will enable you to act advantageously in the event of an early separation from 
the Proteus, which ship, being fitted for cruising in the ice, will probably take ad- 
vantage of opportunities to reach her destination which yon would not feel author- 
ized in taking in the Yantic. t,, 

In view of the possibility of the destruction of the Proteus, it is desirable that yoo 
should proceed as far north as practicable in order to afford succor to her officers and 
men in the event of such an accident, and it is desired that you should await there 
the return of that ship or the arrival of authentic information as to her fate. 

Under no circumstances, however, will you proceed beyond Littleton Island^ 
Smith's Sound, and you are not to enter the "ice pack," nor to place your ship in a 
position to prevent your return this season. You will take on board at St. John's all 
the coal that yon can safely carry below and on deck, as it is very desirable that you 
reach your destination with an ample supply still remaining for use. It may be pos- 
sible to obtain a small supply of coal on the coast of Greenland, but this cannot be 
relied upon. 

In cruising to the northward, yon will rely to a certain extent upon the ice pilots 
and upon the information which is given you by the Danish authorities at Disco and 
Upernavik, as to the probable movements of the ice in Smith's Sound, based upon 
their knowledge of the prevailing winds and their effects upon the moving ice. 

The length of your stay to the northward of Upernavik must depend upon your 
discretion, and should you find it imperative to leave the vicinity of Littleton Island 
or Cape York before the return of the Proteus, you will establish a station on shore 
(having previously, in consultation with Lieutenant Garliugton, settled upon promi- 
nent points on the coasts of Smith's Sound or Baffin's Bay for this jjurpose), in which 
you will leave information as to your movements. 

In issuing the instructions for your cruise the details must be left to your judgment, 
and the Department considers it only necessaiy to call your attention to the desira- 
bility of cordially co-operating with Lieutenant Garliugton, affording him all the as- 
sistance in your power. 

The report of the Secretary of the Navy for 1873, containing the reports of the cruises 
of the U. S. S. Juniata and Tigris [Tigress] in search of the Polaris, and an abstract of 
the log of the Tigris [Tigress], with her track chart, are forwarded herewith. 

Two officers of the Army and eight enlisted men will take passage with you from 
New York to St. John's, together with their baggage and the mail of Lieutenant 
Greely. 

Issue rations and bedding to the enlisted men, and make them and the officers as 
comfortable as possible. 

Good steaming coal can be obtained directly from the mines at Cow Bay or Sidney 
Harbor, Island of Cape Breton, at about $1.80 per ton, and upon your return, if you 
require coal, you will obtain it at one of the above-mentioned ports. 

When you have completed this duty you will return with the Yantic to New York. 
Very respectfully, 

ED. T. NICHOLS, 
Acting Secretary of the Navy. 

Commander Frank Wildes, U. S. N., 

Commd'g U. S. S. Yantic, New York (Comd't). 

THE FAILURE OP THE PROTEUS TO KEEP IN" COMPANY WITH THE 
YANTIC UP TO LITTLETON ISLAND OR ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Lieutenant Garlington received no copy of the above instructions, none 
being requested by or furnished to the Signal Office. He testifies, how- 
ever, that he had been informed in the Signal Office of the terms upon 
which the request for the vessel had been made, and understood in con- 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 271 

versations with Commander Wildes and her officers that he was not au- 
thorized to enter the ice pack. He hence inferred that it was extremely 
doubtful whether the ship could proceed to Littleton Island, 

It will be observed that the instructions to Commander Wildes contem- 
plate an early separation of the ship ; and directed him before leaving 
Saint John's, N. F., to confer with Lieutenant Garlington — 

And make arrangemeuts to act advantageously in case of an early separation from 
the Proteus, which ship, being- fitted for cruising in ice, &c. 

Lieutenant Garlington, on his part, was directed to " spare no effort to 
push the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay;" and before the court, in 
reply to his question : 

Was I ftorrect in my conclusions that I was not to allow the movements of the 
Yantic to interfere in any way with my progress to the northward? 

General Ilazen answered : 

You were specially directed by me not to permit the Yantic to hinder your move- 
ments to the northward. If it appeared that she could not proceed with you you 
were to go on and to the northward the best you could without her. 

The arrangements made for co-operation, in pursuance of the instruc- 
tions to Commander Wildes, are in evidence, as follows: 

MEMORANDUM OP AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN LIEUTENANT GARLINGTON, U. S. ARMY,. 
AND COMMANDER WILDES, U. S. NAVY. 

Yantic to proceed to sea with the Proteus and remain in company as long as possi- 
ble. Yantic will proceed to Disco under sail, will leave letters for Lieutenant Gar- 
lington at Disco ami Upernavik. 

Cairns, enclosing bottles or tins, will be left at Cape York, S. E. Carey Island, or 
Hakluyt Island, Pandora Harbor, and Littleton Island. Yantic will remain in Pan- 
dora Harbor not later than August 2.5 ; Disco, not later than September 20. 

Lieutenant Garlington to leave letters in Disco and Uppernavik, and records on S. 
E. Qarey Island, or Hakluyt Island, Littleton Island, and Pandora Harbor, if entered. 

Proteus to endeavor to communicate with Yantic at Pandora Harbor before Au- 
gust 25. 

Should Proteus be lost push a boat or party south to Yantic. 

Pandora Harbor will be headquarters, but before departure Yantic will run up to 
Littleton Island. 

Commander Wildes testifies that he proceeded to Disco under sail, in 
order to economize his coal, so as to render his ship more efficient for the 
severe work probably before him farther north. The Proteus was the 
faster vessel of the two, as well as being constructed and equipped for ice 
navigation. The reasons for the delays of the Yantic on the coast are 
fully stated in the reports of Commander Wildes, and in his testimony. 
ISo evidence is before the court to impeach the validity of these reasons, 
which address themselves more properly to the judgment of the naval pro- 
fession ; while Commodore Walker, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, 
in reply to a question by the court : 

Q. Then I suppose you are very well satisfied with what the commander of the 
Yantic did in the expedition, under the circumstances? — A. I think he got on faster 
than we had reason to suppose he would. I think he reached Littleton Island quite 
as early as we had reason to suppose he would. Such navigation is difiicult and dan- 
gerous, and subject to delays from many causes. 

0:PlNION. 

In view of the express direction to Lieutenant Garlington to spare no 
efforts to push the Proteus through to Lady Franklin Bay, and especially 



272 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

of the urgency, of which he was advised, of his so doing for the alleged 
reason that Lieutenant Greely's supplies would be exhausted in the fall 
of 1883, and in view also, of the special direction as above set forth, of the 
Chief Signal Officer that he should not allow the movements of the 
Yantic to retard his own progress, he is held to be justifiable for having 
parted company with that vessel at Saint John's, N. F., and again at 
Disco Island. 

It appears to the court, however, that the agreement, above recited, for 
subsequent co-operation was an extremly vague and defective one. 

It is denied by no one that there was an evident possibility that the 
Yantic would pass Melville Bay, and it was most important that this pos- 
sibility should be utilized for all that it was worth. 

If certain points had been fixed upon at which both vessels should 
agree to stop, both going and returning, leaving a record of the fact, and 
should wait on returning, at each point for a stated period, those points 
could have been resorted to with a reasonable certainty of meeting. 

As it was, it happened that at 9 h. 30 m., on the night of August 2, 
the Yantic was at Southeast Carey Island, on her northward voyage, 
while the Proteus company, retreating southward, was at Saunder's Island, 
distant about 40 miles east. If it had been understood that the Yantic 
would stop at the Southeast Carey Island, both going and returning, the 
expedition likewise stopping there or sending thither a lightly-laden boat, 
would have found the record and could have confidently waited there or 
In the vicinity, giving notice of its position, for the convoy's return. 

But, judging of the case merely as the agreement and other conditions 
existed, the court is of opinion that Lieutenant Garlington should have 
decided to wait at Pandora Harbor for the Yantic for a period of two 
weeks, which would have brought the date of his departure not later than 
the 10th of Auffust. He could not have been ignorant that there was a 
possibility that the Yantic would arrive there, even though there natur- 
ally seemed to him to be a preponderance of chances against that event. 

He had in his possession a written agreement, in wdiich it was promised, 
without qualification, that the Yantic Avould " remain at Pandora Harbor 
not later than August 25 ; " that " the Proteus would endeavor to commu- 
nicate with the Yantic at Pandora Harbor before August 25." 

So far as the court is informed he had no right to believe that the com- 
mander of the Yantic would not do his utmost to fulfill his part of the 
agreement. 

Lieutenant Colwell, United States Navy, testifies, page 73, that he 
thought there was a bare chance of the Yantic getting through the west- 
ward passage and reaching Cape York by the time they (the expedition 
in returning) got there. 

Captain Pike, the master of the Proteus, expected (as he testifies) the 
Yantic to get through, and thought the Proteus party should await her at 
the appointed rendezvous. 

Melville Bay is a region justly dreaded by Arctic navigators, but it is 
only the threshold of polar exploration on this hemisphere, and steam ves- 
sels have seldom, if ever, failed to make the passage in a single season. 

A resolution to stay at Pandora Harbor might have involved the ex- 
pectation of a probable consumption of about one-third of the expedition's 
remaining rations, against which was to be estimated some advantage in 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 273 

the lighteuing of the boats, or an opportunity for hunting and living on 
game instead of the rations on hand. Lieutenant Garlingtou reports that 
on the 22d of July " the cliffs around the harbor were covered with birds, 
which kept up a deafening clatter." (It is to be remembered that these 
were migratory birds, which do not remain after the summer.) I^arger 
game, too, might possibly have been found. Moreover, the depot at Carey 
Island was available in the last resort for replenishment of his provis- 
ions — a resource properly to be considered, as the position of that depot 
promised little for the benefit of Lieutenant Greely in comparison with a 
well provided one, if such could be made, at or near Littleton Island. He 
had no reason to suppose that the delay at that season would have in- 
creased the difficulties of his southward passage. On the contrary, from 
the observations of the Alert and the discovery of the British expedition 
of 1875 and 1876, of the Proteus in the summer of 1881 (though that was 
a remarkably open season), and of the Neptune, which did not leave the 
vicinity until September 4, in 1882, Lieutenant Garlingtou had every rea- 
son to believe that the advanced state of the summer would rather im- 
prove the conditions of travel toward Upernavik. But whatever the haz- 
ards of delay, so far as they are made apparent to the court, the cost ought 
to have been counted and assumed, in view of the vast gain to be achieved 
of procuring from the Yantic some provisions — if only a month's suppfy 
for its crew, but five times that for Lieutenant Greely's party — with which 
to make a depot at Life-boat Cove. 

The court, however, recognizes in Lieutenant Garlington's action in the 
premises only a sincere but grave misconception of the case on the part of 
an officer engaged in a novel and extraordinary duty when in a situation 
of much embarrassment and perplexity. The difficulty relates back to the 
failure of his commanding officer to give him proper instructions and ad- 
vice for his action either in anticipation of the possibility of the great dis- 
aster which overtook the expedition in the sinking of the ship, or for his 
guidance after the happening of such a contingency. 

It is considered by the court to have been demonstrated by this inquiry 
that the Navy Department in providing and equipping a ship for the sup- 
port of the expedition, did not only all, but more than all, that Department 
was asked by the Signal Service to do ; and that such aid was rendered 
most willingly and with an earnest disposition to do everything possible 
to further the purposes and ends of the project. 

THE FAILURE TO ESTABLISH A WELL-PROVIDED RELIEF STATIOX AT 
OR NEAR LITTLETON ISLAND. 

It appears, from the testimony and the papers submitted, that Lieutenant 
Greely, in his letter to the Chief Signal Officer, dated August 17, 1881, 
from Lady Franklin Bay, recommended the establishing of '' a Avinter sta- 
tion at Polaris winter quarters. Life-boat Cove," in 1883, should the re- 
lief expeditions of 1882 and 1883 fail to reach Lady Franklin Bay, and it 
is clear that on his return about 1st September, 1883, he expected to find 
such a winter station with men and stores there established. 

This is confirmed by the terms of the original instructions from the Chief 
Signal Officer to Lieutenant Greely, of June 17, 1881, in these words : 

In case no vessel reaches tlie permanent station in 1882 tlie vessel sent in 1883 will 
eniaiu in Smith's Sound until there is danj^er of its closing by ice, and, on leaving, 

S. Ex. 100 18 



274 PfiOCEEDlNCiS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

will Land all her supplies and a party at Littletou Island, which party will be pre- 
pared for a winter's stay and will be instructed to send sledge parties up to the east 
side of Grinnell Land to meet this party. If not visited in 1882 Lieutenant Greely will 
abandon his station not later than September 1, 1883, and will retreat southward by 
boat, following closely the east coast of Grinnell Land, until the relieving vessel is met 
or Littleton Island is reached. 

It thus appears from the original iustructious and f roiu Lieutenant Greely's 
reconnneuclation from Lady Franklin Bay, that a winter station of men 
and stores was to be made at or near Littleton Island in 1883, should the 
relief expeditions of 1882 and 1883 fail to reach Lady Franklin Bay. 

To a readerof Arctic explorations, the original expedition of 1881, which 
took the Greely party to Lady Franklin Bay, made a most remarkable trip, 
encountering but little obstruction and finding almost continuous open 
water. No one at all conversant with the condition and movement of the 
ice in those waters could anticipate a recurrence of such exceptionally 
favorable conditions more than once in many years. The possibilities and 
probabilities were largely on the side of failure to reach Lady Franklin 
Bay by a relief expedition. I^ieutenant Greely realized this at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay, for, in closing his letter to the Chief Signal Officer, dated August 
15, 1881, two days after his arrival, he says : 

In my opinion a retreat from here southward to Cape Sabine, in case no vessel reaches 
as in 1882 and 1883, will be safe and practicable, although all but the most important 
records will necessarily have to be abandoned. 

And this after the most remarkable trip on record. The most judicious 
course then to pursue for the sure return of the expedition was to make 
the most ample provision to render his progress southward as easy and 
safe as possible by caching provisions and stores along his route, and estab- 
lish a N^'inter station at or near Littletou Island, where the party could be 
comfortably Cjuartered during the long Arctic winter. This last was of 
vital importance. The shores of Kennedy Channel and Smith Sound 
have caches at intervals probably more than sufficient for his retreat south 
to Cape Sabine, but Littleton Island has only a small deposit of 250 
rations left by the Neptune in 1882, about ten days' supply for the party. 
The winter station should have been established at all hazards, as upon it 
may depend the lives of Greely and his party. 

The experience of the Neptune the previous year (1882), when she was 
nipped in the ice, and might have been destroyed, found ice across Smith's 
Sound, and returned, having cached two hundred and fifty rations not 
farther north than Cape Sabine, proved the uncertainty, if not impossi- 
bility, of carrying out any programme in those dangerous seas. It showed 
that no dependence can be placed on the ability to progress northward, 
and that every mile gained must be utilized in making provision for pos- 
sible future disappointment or disaster. A few hours may change an open 
sea into an ice barrier, so that each point gained must be made a secure 
basis for a safe retreat. 

But besides these conclusions, flowing naturally from previous experiences, 
and from the reason of the thing, it is in evidence that the Chief Signal 
Officer was urged by Capt. W. H. Clapp, of the Sixteenth Infantry, as- 
sistant in the Signal Office, "that it would be a measure of safety to estab- 
lish a depot of provisions while the vessel was on her upward trip," be- 
cause it had occurred to him — 

That most vessels visiting those waters had been at times imperiled from the ice, 
and that the Neptune, the relieving vessel in 1882, had been seriously and danger- 
ously nipped in Smith's Sound. (P. 164.) 



rKOCEElJiNCrS OF rtiOTEUS COUKT OF INQUIRY. 275 

riiis subject was referred to on several oecasious, and probably as late 
as early in May. (P. 175.) This receives confirmation from the Chief Sig- 
nal Officer himself, both in his testimony (p. 26) and in his letter of the 16th 
October, 1883, to the Secretary of War, transmitting Lieutenant Garling- 
tou's report. (x4.ppendix, p. 223.) In the letter he says: 

Congress had afterwards, however, added another element to the question, in this, 
that the party should be brought away this summer. This at first caused the instruc- 
tions to be determined upon, that the stores be landed at Littleton Island before 
going north of that point. 

It is also in evidence that Lieut. L. V. Caziarc, Second Artillery, as- 
sistant in Signal Office, was shortly before the sailing of the expedition 
directed by the Acting Chief Signal Officer, General Hazen being absent 
at Saint John's, N. F., to prepare for the Secretary of the Navy a memo- 
randum requiring joint co-operation between the Proteus and the Yantic, 
the Yantic having been designated for the purposes of this expedition, on 
the request which had been made on May 14, 1883 (p. 174), for a naval 
ship as escort. Lieutenant Caziarc prepared the memorandum known as 
Inclosure 4 (pp. 126 and 40, Appendix), and, as testified to by him, " merely 
embodied my own views, for adoption or rejection, as the Chief Signal 
Officer should see fit. No outline of any views was given to me on the 
subject." "I did not think they were contrary in any essential feature" to 
the views of Lieutenant Greely. This memorandum, inclosure 4, requires : 

The Proteus to land her stores, except supplies for more northerly depots, at Little- 
ton Island, on her way north. * * >^ Should the Proteus be crushed in the ice her 
crew will retire on Littleton Island, and the tender will bring to Saint John's, N. F., 
the officers and crew of the Proteus. The rest of the party to remain at Littleton 
Island. 

This "memorandum" found its way among the inclosures to Lieutenant 
Garlington's instructions, and was by him brought to the attention of the 
Chief Signal Officer in a very marked manner. As on previous occasions, 
this gave opportunity to the Chief Signal Officer to consider the grave and 
important question of establishing a winter station at Littleton Island on 
the way north ; and, as before, the idea was again rejected, and the matter 
Avas left with positive instructions to the contrary. But the reasons given 
for its rejection are untenable. 

That the expectations of Lieutenant Greely must not be disappointed 
Avhen the lives of his party might depend on the strict observance of his 
requirements, goes without saying, and the failure to make a winter depot 
at or near Littleton Island cannot be excused by mere argument on false 
pi'emises. 

The winter station at Littleton Island was a necessity, was so considered 
by Lieutenant Greely, and the fact now stands that it was not made, when 
by more forethought it might have been there to-day. The reason given 
by the Chief Signal Officer, that sending the Yantic as convoy " so far 
obviated the absolute necessity of first stopping to unload at Littleton 
Island, the convoy itself being a depot, that it was thought best that Lieu- 
tenant Greely 's directions should remain as Lieutenant Garlington's guide, 
and that it be suggested only that the landing be first made " (p. 224) is 
survly a misconception. The Yantic was in no sense a depot for liieu- 
tciiant Greely; she was only a place of refuge for Lieutenant Garlington 



276 PEOCEEDINGS OF PROTJ:US COURT OF INQUIRY. 

and his party. The instructions to the commander of the Yantic from 
the Acting Secretary of the Navy were as follows : 

In view of the pos8ibilit5' of the destructiou of the Proteus, it is desirable that you 
should proceed as far north as practicable in order to afford succor to her officers and 
men in the event of such an accident, and it is desired that you should await there 
the return of that ship, or the arrival of authentic information as to her fate. Under 
no circumstances, however, will yon proceed beyond Littleton Island, Smith's Sound, 
and you are not to enter the ice pack, nor to place your ship in a position to prevent 
your I'eturn this season. (Appendix, p. 175.) 

This shows that the Yantic was to remain at Littleton Island, but a 
few weeks at most, and could be of no possible help to the Greely party ; 
while the depot or station was for the quartering, subsistence, and safety 
of the entire Greely party, not for a few weeks, but for a long Arctic 
winter. 

The strange blindness to this palpable and most urgent necessity of the 
case, and to tlie relations between, and functions of, the diflPereut portions 
of the relief expedition is lamentable and incomprehensible. 

Another reason given is, that the original instructions to Greely, and 
Greely's letter to the Chief Signal Officer (Appendix, pp. 7 and 57), 
stated in terms that the caches should be made in ease the ship failed to 
reach Lady Franklin Bay, and on her return southward. The Chief 
Signal Officer writes — 

That it was thought best that Lieutenant Greely's directions should remain as 
Lieutenant Garlington's guide. (Appendix, p. 224.) 

He testifies (p. 26) that— 

The Greely letter was of that nature and character, written as it was after he had 
arrived there, knowing all the facts as no other man in the world could know them, 
that I felt that I was excluded from giving Lieutenant Garlington any orders that 
would in any manner conflict with his dii'ections. 

And in regard to Caziarc's memorandum " inclosure 4 :" 

I told him (Garlington) that it was no part of his orders, and then I gave him a 
history of the paper as I have given it here (p. 25). 

This after expressing surprise at finding it among the inclosures to 
Lieutenant Garlington's instructions. 

All this proves that the Chief Signal Officer positively decided to ad- 
here to the letter to Lieutenant Greely's recommendations without addi- 
tion, subtraction, or modification of any kind whatever. It has already 
been stated that the caches recommended to be madeby Lieutenant Greely 
ought to be made without fail, but this is no argument against taking other 
prudential measures for his comfort and safety. All of Greely's recom- 
mendations must be carried out of course, but that additional precautions 
in his interest should not be taken, especially after the failure of the ex- 
pedition of the previous year, seems as if it had been intended to place the 
entire responsibility of failure on Greely's shoulders. The Neptune in 
1882 brought back quantities of supplies that could have been better 
placed on the shores of Smith's Sound, and as the Chief Signal Officer has 
" regretted very much ever since that such instructions were not given, 
and that his (Beebe) supplies were not all left at Cape Sabine" (p. 100), 
this fact should have awakened in him a decided purpose to remedy that 



riiOLKEDlNGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 277 

neglect; ;md shows that to that extent he was willing to go beyond the 
Greely recommendations. 

As early as November 1, 1882, in a letter to the Secretary of War (Ap- 
pendix, p. 88), inclosing a plan for a relief expedition of next year, the 
Chief Signal OiBcer says : 

In seudiug the expedition uext vear every possible eoutiugency must be provided 
for. 

Unfortunately for Lieutenant Greely and his party, the most impor- 
tant contingency was utterly disregarded. The instructions to Lieutenant 
Garlington contemplate two contingeucies, 1st, open water to Lady Frank- 
lin Bay ; 2d, an ice barrier clear across Smith's Sound. The most vital and 
far-reaching contingency in its consequences to all concerned, the loss of, 
the Proteus, as actually happened, when thought of and discussed, made 
so little im])ression that the only reference to or mention of it in the Sig- 
nal Office records is to be found in Lieutenant Caziarc's memorandum. 
(Inclosure 4.) And yet such an occurrence is not so infrequent in Arctic 
waters as to render its recurrence improbable, 

That ship went to her destruction without anything iiaving been done 
in advance for the safety of the thirty-seven lives on board, nor provision 
made for the delivery of the Greely party in case of such disaster. 

It is stated in the first paragraph of the instructions to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington [A.., p. 118) that the necessity of reaching Ijieutenant Greely — 

Cannot be overestimated, as Lieutenant Greely's supplies will be exliansted during 
the coming fall. 

And Lieutenant Garlington testifies (p. 126): 

I always understood uutil I came back here from the Arctic regions that Lieuten- 
ant Greely's sui^plies would be exhausted at the end of August, 1882. 

It is thus made to appear, and so believed by Lieutenant Garlington, 
that the Greely party were in such straits that the Proteus must push her 
way to Lady Franklin Bay as rapidly as possible, and take all the stores 
and provisions to that point for the relief of the Greely party — nothing 
to be cached on the way north — when the fact is of record tliat the Greely 
party was liberally provisioned until 1884, as testified to by the Chief Signal 
Officer himself (p. 190), and required no assistance. Add to this the other 
fact that the act of 3d March, 1883, required that the station at liady 
Franklin Bay be abandoned and that the entire Greely party be brought 
back to the United States, and the taking a large amount of supplies to 
Lady Franklin Bay, where they were not at all needed, is most inexpli- 
cable. Not only so, but most unfortunate, for in the event of disaster 
caches of these very supplies on the west shore of Smith's Sound and at 
or near Littleton Island were of the very first importance, upon which 
the lives of all engaged in that expedition — the relieved and the reliev- 
ing — might absolutely depend. The day or two lost in making deposits 
of provisions ought not to have been considered even, under the great 
stress of reaching Lady Franklin Bay at the earliest moment. In the 
uncertain and treacherous movements of the Arctic ice, such a delay, as 
things turned out, might have proved a blessing in disguise. 

It may be here stated roughly that from July, 1882, to August, 1883, 
not less than 50,000 rations were taken in the steamers Neptune, Yantic, 
and Proteus up to or beyond I^ittleton Island, and of that number only 



278 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 

about 1,000 were left in that vicinity, the remainder being returned to 
the United States or sunk with the Pi'otens. 

The faihire to establish a winter station at Littleton Island, and to 
make additional caches on the west side of Smith's Sound, leaves the con- 
dition of things as follows : 

Lieutenant Greely and his party, under the original instructions, aban- 
doned Lady Franklin Bay and retreated south on or before the 1st Sep- 
tem})er, 1883. The idea may be entertained that as no relief vessel reached 
him in 1882 and 1883, and he is unaware of the law directing that his 
station be abandoned, Lieutenant Greely may have decided to winter at 
Discovery Harbor, to make an early start next spring, with all the condi- 
tions of travel most favorable to a successful journey. It is, however,, 
believed by the court that his positive instructions and his own expressed 
intentions will prevail. If favored with open water, as was the case when 
the Proteus came back in 1881, finding no impassable ice in Smith's Sound, 
the party has come "by boat," as instructed, with no more stores than 
sufficient for the journey — the caches en route supplying them with any 
deficiency in case of accident or delay. 

If, however, as probable, Kennedy channel was closed by ice, and 
Smith's Sound so obstructed, their only line of retreat open to them was 
over the coast line. Under the favorable circumstance of his dogs being 
still alive — and Norman, who went with Greely, "thinks Greely's dogs 
are all dead of disease which made its appearance last year," 1881 (p. 54) — 
no surplus supplies could be carried between caches, on a journey beset 
with difficulties almost -insurmountable. But in the absence of dogs, the 
party has had to make the retreat on foot, unaided, over 250 miles of most 
exhausting travel over ice, dragging their supplies, and depending on the 
caches ahead to make up what is daily consumed, but looking forward 
with implicit confidence to the winter station at or near Littleton Island 
as the happy termination of their labors, troubles, and anxieties. 

Lieutenant Greely entertained nodoubt of being able to do this, for in his 
letter to the Chief Signal Officer from Lady Franklin Bav, of August 15, 
1881, he says: 

I feel it iiroper to here state that iu my opinion a retreat from here southwani to- 
Cape Sabine in case no vessel reaches ns in 1882 or 18^3, will be safe and practicable. 
(P. 29.) 

The records show (map, Exhibit C) that there are caches of provisions 
on the west side of Smith's Sound as follows : At Carl Ritter Bay, 75 miles 
from Discovery Harbor, 225 rations ; at Cape Collinson, 62 miles further 
south, 250 rations ; at Cape Hawkes, 50 miles further, about 1,500 rations ; 
at Cape Sabine, 55 miles off, about 1,000 rations ; at Littleton Island, 23 
miles across from Cape Sabine, 250 rations and 6| tons of coal. The 
depot of rations at Littleton Island has not been inspected nor visited since 
it was made in 1882 by Mr. Beebe. 

That Lieutenant Greely and party will be fortunate euough to reach 
Cape Sabine in safety is highly probable ; that they will reach Littleton 
Island by crossing the sound in the rather unsound boat left at Cape Sabine, 
or on the ice if the sound be closed, is also probable, but only to find them- 
selves on a desolate coast, without shelter and with little food, over one hun- 
dred miles from the Carey Islands, containing the only cache of supplies on 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQIURY. 279 

the way south, ami hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement at Up- 
ernavik. To return to their comfortable and well-provided station at Lady 
Franklin Bay would be as terrible an undertaking as proceeding south, 
and the heart-sickness and dissappointment at being forgotten in the deso- 
lation round them, renders it impossible to imagine what their future course 
will be. The veil cannot be lifted until the next summer's sun dispels the 
darkness of this Arctic night. 

After the disaster, the evidence clearly establishes the fact that Lieuten- 
ant Garliugton and his party saved all they could from the sinking ship, 
and that they cached near Cape Sabine all the stores and provisions that 
could be spared before crossing to Littletou Island. 

Without discussing here whether or not he should have awaited there 
the arrival of the Yantic before starting south, it is due to Lieutenant Gar- 
lington to say that he was fully warranted, as the sequel proved, in not 
leaving a portion of his provisions at or near Littleton Island. It is in 
evidence that he had about forty days' rations for his party, and it took 
them twenty-nine days to reach the settlements, leaving no considerable 
margin for delays that are always to be expected in Arctic navigation in 
open boats. 

Commander Wildes, of the Yantic, had been supplied with copies of 
Lieutenant Garliugton 's instructions and of Lieutenant Greely's letter, and 
while at Littleton Island and vicinity he learned of the loss of the Pro- 
teus, and that the expedition had gone south in boats. The Secretary of 
the Navy testifies (p. 118) : 

In other words, say four montlis' full rations were on board when the vessel (Yan- 
tic), on August 3, left Littleton Island, and there were brought back to Saint John's 
full rations for three months. 

Knowing, as Commander Wildes did, from these instructions, •' the ob- 
ject of the relief expedition and the importance of its success,'' the desire 
and intention of establisiiiug a winter station at or near Littleton Island, 
and its vital interest to Lieutenant Greely and his party, it is greatly to be 
regretted that, in his earnest desire to succor the crew and party of the Pro- 
teus before they should encounter the perils of Melville Bay, he should not 
have risked the delay of a few hours, or even days, to cache a portion of his 
surplus provisions aud stores to welcome the arrival of Lieutenant Greely 
and party on that inhospitable shore. 

It is true that the furnishing of the Yantic and supplies was, as stated 
by the Secretary of the Xav}'^, in precise conformity to the requests of the 
Chief Signal Officer, and the latter did not ask nor expect that supplies 
for the expedition should be carried by the Yantic, and offers to this effect 
were made to him by the Secretary and declined, still, with this sole re- 
maining means of making a depot wherff Lieutenant Greely would expect 
to find a winter station, and the serious consequences to his party of dis- 
appointment in this respect, the landing of a portion of the Yantic's sup- 
plies, notwith.standing the risks that such delay would involve, would have 
been timely and wise, and "in furtherance of the aims and objects of the 
expedition." In the presence of such dire disaster, with the terrible conse- 
quences threatening to fijllow closely and relentlessly after it, such an act by 
Commander Wildes could have been worthv onlv of commendation. 



280 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY«j 



CONCLUSIONS. 

Having in the foregoing pages presented a statement of the facts devel- 
ojjed by this investigation, relating to the organization and fitting out of the 
Greely relief expedition transported by the steamer Proteus; and " to ^/».e 
general conchtct of the expedition ;^' and having discjussed and reported upon 
"the failure of the Proteus to keep in company icith the Yantic up to Little- 
ton Island, or its neighborhood ; " and "the failure to establish a well pro- 
vided relief station at or near Littleton Island,'' it remains now for the 
court only to express its opinion " whether the conduct of any officer of the 
Army calk for further proceedings before a general court-martial, and the 
reasons for the conclusions reached.'" 

The court has ah-eady pronounced the opinion that Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, after the sinking of the Proteus, erred in not waiting longer at Pandora 
Harbor, with the object of obtaining trom the Yantic supplies with which 
to make a depot for a winter station at Life-Boat Cove, near Littleton 
Island, the objective point of the retreat which Lieutenant Greely had 
been ordered to begin at Lady Franklin Bay not later than the 1st of 
September, 1883. 

Lieutenant Garlingtou's error in this respect is regarded as one of judg- 
ment, committed in the exercise of a difficult and unusual discretion, for 
which, in the opinion of the court, he should not be held to further ac- 
countability. 

It is also due to him to say, that in the general conduct of the expedition, 
prior to the loss of the ship, he displayed zeal, energy, and efficiency, as well 
as afterward in successfully conducting his command through a long, peril- 
ous, and laborious retreat, in boats, to a place of safety. 

While awarding credit to General Hazen, the Chief Signal Officer of 
the Army, for the best intentions in devising measures for the rescue of 
the command of Lieutenant Greely, and lor an earnest desire — which it 
was impossible that he should not have entertained — to restore those ad- 
venturous men to their country and homes after two years, exile from the 
world of humanity; and while further, as has already been said, commend- 
ing the study and care of General Hazen and of his assistants in the Signal 
Office, in 1883, in the preparation of the outfit and material of the expedi- 
tion of that year, and the selection of its personnel, the court is of opinion 
that in many particulars, and in some of the gravest moment, he failed in 
an adequate comprehension of the necessities of the case, and of the measures 
and means essential to meet them. 

The following grave errors and omissions are noted in his action: 

First. In not submitting, in th« fall of 1882, to the Secretary of War, 
for the action of Congress, a sufficient plan, with corresponding estimates 
for the organization and equipment of a complete and efficient relief expe- 
dition, to be conveyed in two vessels fitted for ice navigation, whereby the 
chances of disaster and failure would have been greatly diminished. 

Second. In objecting strongly, in the fall of 1882, to a proposed endeavor 
bv the War De])artment to obtain from the Navy the men for the relief 
partvofl883. 

Third. In sending an independent comniand upon a most perilous and 
respjnsil)le, as well as distant, expedition, with only on<.' t'ommissioned 
officer. 



PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 281 

Fourth. Ill iuforming Lieutenaut (xarlington iii his instructions that 
Lieutenant Greely's supplies would be exhausted in the fall of 1883, where- 
as the means of correct knowledge were within ready reach in the Signal 
Office to show that Lieutenant Greely's command was fully provisioned for 
more than three years from the summer of 1881 ; the natural effect of this 
error being to urge Lieutenant Garlington to undue impatience and haste 
to reach Lady Franklin Bav with all the stores intrusted to his charge, 
and to obscure from his mental vision, after the ship and cargo had gone 
down, the desirability of advancing as far as possible, northward, notice of 
the disaster, in order that Lieutenant Greely, before coming down too far 
to go back, might, being so warned, retire again to his well-provided sta- 
tion at Lady Franklin Bay. 

Fifth. His persistent rejection of the wisest measure tliat it remained 
possible for him to adopt in the spring of 1883, and which was repeatedly 
urged upon his consideration, to wit, the making on the northward voyage 
of the relief ship of a large depot for a winter at or near Littleton Island 
(the objective point of the projected retreat of Lieutenant Greely), whereby 
the ship would have been lightened of stores which it was in nowise nec- 
essary to carry to Lady Franklin Bay, or to expose to the dangers of Smith 
Sound, and whereby the subsequent loss of the vessel would have been of 
comparatively trivial consequence. 

The explanations oifered by the Chief Signal Officer of his decision not 
so to make a depot, that it would be a deviation from Lieutenant Greely's 
own plan of relief, are, as has already been shown, utterly untenable and 
illogical. 

Concert of action between the retreating and the relieving parties was 
undoubtedly important, but this being secured by compliance with all 
Lieutenant Greely's requests as to the location of depots or otherwise, how 
could any intelligent deference to those requests, either in their spirit or 
letter, forbid that further precautions and measures should be devised and 
taken with a view to his rescue ? 

This was plainly the case in the proposed unloading at or near Littleton 
Island, on the way northward. Lieutenant Greely asked to have a winter 
station made for him near that place. If one-half or two-thirds of the 
stores of the expedition had been unloaded at the entrance of Smith Sound 
there would have been secured a vastly greater approach to certainty of 
the full attainment of Lieutenant Greely's wishes and urgent needs than 
when the whole cargo was subjected to the hazards of the heavy ice packs 
habitually present in that water. 

And, while a delay of a few days would have involved no appreciable 
disadvantage from retarding the voyage to Lady Franklin Bay — which 
was not essential — the omission to make this depot — which teas essential — 
threatens serious danger to the lives of Lieutenant Greely and his com- 
mand. 

The further reason that General Hazen assigns for his action — that the 
naval tender would be itself a depot — was, as has already been shown, 
wholly fallacious and unfounded. 

Sixth. In failing to perceive a necessity for a second vessel until nearly 
the middle of May, 1883, or to advise the Navy Department of what such 
tender was wanted to do, or how far it was wanted to go, until a fortnight 
later, whereas a definite and explicit request ought to have been made im- 
mediately after the enactment of the appropriation which authorized the 



282 PROCEEDINGS OF PROTEUS COUHT OF INQUIRY. 

expedition, two raontlis sooner, and that much longer notice given to ena- 
ble a more complete iitting of a ship for the purpose. 

Seventh. The omission of proper directions and measures for stowing 
the ciirgo of the Proteus, in order that the most important material for the 
purposes of the expedition should be readily accessible in an emergency, 
owing to which omission it \vas unknown to either Lieutenant Garlington 
or the master of the ship, where the arms and ammunition provided for 
the party were stowed; and upon the loss of the ship the command was 
left with only the few arms and comparatively small amount of powder 
and shot that had been kept in their personal possession. 

It was of vital importance that the cargo sh()uld be so stowed that its 
most essential contents would be easily accessible and removable in any 
exigency. 

The instructions to Lieutenant Garlington were insufficient, while he 
was denied permission to proceed in advance to Saint John's to attend to 
the matter which was committed to the sole care of a non-commissioned 
officer who wholly failed to attend to it, not even going to Saint John's for 
the purpose. 

If a sufficient quantity of arms and ammunition had been saved a cache 
of them might have been made for the use of Lieutenant Greely, the 
amount of whose supply of this indispensable material has not been made 
kno\\u to the court, and however ample it may have been originally, by 
this time may be entirely exhausted. 

Eighth. The lax, negligent, and defective metliod of keeping the record 
of public business and conducting the correspondence in the Signal Office, 
as illustrated by the action of the Chief Signal Officer, in regard to the so- 
called supplementary instruction or order to Lieutenant Garlington, which, 
in fact, w^as no order at all. General Hazen's attention was called to a 
document in the nature of an order placed by one of his staff, with the 
orders to Lieutenant Garlington, in that officer's hands, without — as the 
Chief Signal Officer testifies — his express or conscious authority. He con- 
tented himself with telling the lieutenant that the paper was no part of 
his orders, without calling to account the officer who had thus presumed 
(from this point of view) to give an order or even a suggestion in conflict 
with the terms of the Avritten orders signed by himself, the Chief Signal 
Officer. He certainly ought to have withdrawn a paper containing the 
contradictory direction or suggestion, to the acting adjutant of the office 
with orders to cancel it, and if on record, to expunge it therefrom, unless, 
indeed, he was prepared to make it an order and embody it in the instruc- 
tions over his signature. 

On the contrary, he takes none of these steps, but wholly omits to ac- 
quaint his acting adjutant with his conversation with, and last oral instruc- 
tions to. Lieutenant Garlington, and leaves that adjutant under the impres- 
sion that the memorandum, which he remembers fhat he had sent to the 
desk of the Chief Signal Officer with the instructions for the expedition, 
and with them received back, without comment, for transmission to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, was a supplementary order or a postscri]it to the instruc- 
tions of that officer. Fron.i which course of action it resulted that the 
memorandum was recorded as an iuclosure to Lieutenant Garlington's in- 
structions, and afterward published to the country as an indication that he 
had been guilty of disobedience of orders in failing to, make a depot at or 
near Littleton Island on his voyasre northward. 



PROCEEDINGS OP^ PROTEUS COURT OF INQUIRY. 283 

If any further illustration were needed of this mischievous manner of 
conducting official business, it would be apparent in the reflection that if 
a fatal accident had befallen the Chief Signal Officer during Lieutenant 
Garlington's absence, the knowledge of the last interview between those 
two would have been confined to the survivor, whose testimony, in repell- 
ing a charge of violation of his orders, as that of a man deeply interested, 
would have had to be judged in the light of Lieutenant Caziarc's knowl- 
edge, only of having sent to the Chief Signal Officer, and received back 
again for transmission to Lieutenant Garliugton, the memorandum in 
question. 

That it was not signed nor mentioned in the body of the instructions 
over General Hazen's signature, might then have been regarded as matter 
of form rather than of substance. 

Touching this memorandum itself, the court is of opinion that neither 
was it an order, nor did it properly carry any force as a suggestion, to the 
commander of the expedition, who was instructed to strictly conform to 
the letter of Lieutenant Greely's requests. General Hazen had rejected 
the idea embodied in the memorandum as in conflict with those requests, 
and so informed Lieutenant Garlington, stating that they were a law to 
him, the Chief Signal Officer. If he had desired or intended that Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, if delayed near Littleton Island on the voyage north- 
ward, should make the depot, he could easily have embodied in the orders 
a proviso to that effect, instead of obscuring such an idea under a vague 
intimation of the discretion reposed in a distant commander, to be called 
into exercise according to the facts as they should develop themselves. 
This discretion, however, can have no application to Lieutenant Garling- 
ton's subsequent action, as the very condition of facts that this officer in- 
dicated as his objection to stopping at Littleton Island to unload was 
found there in the clear and unobstructed passage northward. 

Ninth. Following the custom when officers of different services, with 
independent commands, are ordered to co-operate in a single expedition, 
the Chief Signal Officer should have taken care to have Lieutenant Gar- 
lington furnished with a copy of the instructions of the Navy Depart- 
ment to the commander of the Yantic. 

While the foregoing grave errors and omissions are regarded as having^ 
either directly led or largely contributed to the abortive issue of the ex- 
pedition, yet as they are all deemed to have been due to the lack of a 
wise prevision and sound judgment, in the exercise of a wide administra- 
tive discretion, and unattended by any willAil neglect or intentional derelic- 
tion of duty, the court, after mature deliberation, is of opinion that no 
further proceedings before a general- court-martial are called for. 

s. y. BEN:fiT, 

President of the Court. 
Henry Goodfellow, 

Judge-Advocate, Recorder of the Court. 

The court then, at 3 o'clock p. m., adjourned sine die. 

S. Y. BENfiT, 
Brig. GenH, Chief of Ordnance, President. 

Henry Goodfellow, 

Judge- Advocate, Recorder. 



\. 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS OF COURT OF INQUIRY. 



Adjutant^General, requested to furnish certain correspondence and reports. . . 2 

requested to obtain address of Commander Wildes and 

Lieutenant Col well 2 

requested to secure attendance of Commander Wildes and 

Lieutenant Colwell as witnesses 2 

correspondence, «fcc., desired first 2 

to request Secretary of Navy for certified copies of certain 

correspondence, &c 2 

Certified copies (3 Tolumes) received from Secretary of Navy 4 

Court and recorder sworn 1 

Court of inquiry, findings (see Findings, court of inquiry) 251-283 

members 1 

order convening 1 

scope of investigation 1 

Exhibit C, presented by General Hazen 54 

Findings, court of inquiry 251-283 

conclusions '. 280-283 

failure of Proteus to keep in company with Yantic up to Littleton 

Island or its neighborhood 270-273 

failure to establish a well-provided relief station at or near Little- 
ton Island 273-279 

instructions for the expedition 262-270 

interrogatories to United States Consul Malloy, John Syme, and 

John Lash. Non-receipt of answers ,.. 260 

opinion of court 271-273 

organization and fitting out of relief expedition of 1883 260-262 

report of facts developed by the inquiry 251-259 

Garlington, Lieutenant, permitted to further examine Lieutenant Caziarc, if 

necessary 53 

privilege to appear during proceedings, and intro- 
duce counsel 2 

Garlington's instructions, Adjutant-General to forward originals 2 

his report, &c., received 4 

further examination on subject ended ; why 57 

Greely's command, certified statement, received 209 

Hawkins, John P., commissary subsistence. United States Army, affidavit re- 
lating to subsistence stores selected for expedition 160 

Hazen, General, informed certain questions could be submitted orally 90 

statement of 245-251 

Kent, Mr. Linden, argument 211-245 

counsel for Lieutenant Garlington 3 

Letter (copy) of C. S. O. requesting Secretary of the Navy to furnish tender.. 24 
of Adjutant-General, conveying approval of Secretary of War to re- 
quest for adjournment, &c 144 

of Captain Clapp to Adjutant-General Drum, transmitting copy of 

letter December 1, 1883, to C. S. O 181 

of Captain Clapp, November 27, 1883, to recorded court of inquiry, 

requesting to be heard in person 183, 184 

of Captain Clapp, December 1, 1883, to C. S. O., in reply to his, of 

November 23, 1883 181,182 

of Lieutenant Garlington, soliciting privilege of employing counsel 

in his behalf 3 

of president of court, suggesting presence of certain witnesses, and re- 
questing adjournment to December 19 143, 144 

requesting General Hazen to state what expected to prove by certain 

witnesses 120 

Records and correspondence, Signal OfiSce (copies), relating to Garlington 

expedition submitted 2,3,23 

Stenographer (H, H. Alexander) sworn 3 

(Maurice Pechin) sworn 144 

S. Ex. 100 19 285 



286 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

CAZIARC V. LOUIS, FIRST LIEUTENANT SECOND ARTILLERY. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Beebe's Report, in Signal Service Notes No. 5 49 

Charter party must have been put with Garlington's instructions in groat 

hurry, at last moment 42, 43 

of Proteu.8, also marked as Inclosure No. 4 42, 50 

Copies, care taken in comparing with originals; same not observed in copy- 
ing into record books 48 

in making, custom is to compare all parts of them 48 

witness's chief clerk had charge of papers to furnish copies 160 

Division of Arctic observation and research. Captain Clapp in charge 39 

Duty, since May 1881 39 

Garlington expedition, Clapio continued to act as advisory officer after Gar- 
lington's arrival 39 

did not specially present views to C. S. O. as to danger 

taking all stores through Smith's Sound 53 

Garlington relieved Clapp of so much of work as re- 
lated to outfit of expedition 39 

preparation begun in fall of 1882 39 

selection of Garlington and men for 39 

Garlington's instructions, and "Inclosure 4," placed in hands of C. S. O. by 

witness 157 

by whom copies were made for newspapers 159 

Mills took the copies prepared in Signal Officer to 

Department 49 

copies furnished Commodore English and Secretary 

of Navy 46 

copies furnished newspapers by witness 44, 51 

copies furnished newspapers taken from the rough 

or hektograph copies 159 

copies of papers not furnished Secretary of Navy 

enumerated 49 

C. S. O. took them to the Secretary of War withoiit 

the inclosures - 46 

date copies were furnished newspapers not known . 159 

date of their preparation 60 

does not know Powell's telegram of May 20 was in 

consequence of interview with Secretary of Navy . 155 

does not remember C. S. O. telegraphed from St. 

John's to take no action until his return 64, 75 

draft not submitted to him for comment 61 

history of 40-43 

in Mr. Powell's hands when he gave him " Inclos- 
ure 4" 156 

instructions to make copies for newspapers issued 

by witness 159 

knew what took place with regard to their prepar- 
ation prior to May 2, 1883 60 

made no suggestion on rough which passed through 

his hands 63 

most of June 4 and 5 spent in their preparation .. 157 

never heard copies were sent to Secretary of Navy 

before Garlington's departure 45, 46 

no record copies were furnished Secretary of Navy 

before Garlington's departure 46 

original draft, marginal notes, corrections, &c., 

read ; names of officers making them given.54,55,56, 57 

origin al submi tted and identified by witness 44 

published in "National Republican" June 9, 1884 158 

second draft and "Inclosure 4" being in conflict, 

one or other should have been amended 

second draft not submitted formally, although cor- 
rections on it and on Greely's letter appear in 

his handwriting 

second draft passed through his hands and was 

inspected June 4 

two telegrams from C. S. O. in regard to, received: 
former answer corrected to that effect 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 287 



Garlington's instructious, Secretary of War not furnished copies of all papers 47 

verbal request oy Secretary of Navy for copies ; 

when 46 

wheu furnished newspapers had not been copied 

on the books 159 

witness prepared inclosures placed in envelope .. 59 

Inclosure No. 4, additional explanations with regard to last clause 75 

after left his hands did not see it until Mr. Garlington's return 42 

after its return from C. S. 0. assumed it approved ; acted 

upon it as an approved order ; why 62 

after its return from C. S. O., considered it part of Garling- 
ton's instructions 64 

among inclosures returned by C. S. O. for delivery to officers 

addressed 58 

among papers, but copy not furnished newspapers ; why 159 

among papers handed C. S. O. for scrutiny 41, 42 

Clapp considered it a material departure from Greely's in- 
structions 53 

circumstance which first conveyed the information that Gar- 

lingtou had not approved it 44 

considered part of Garlington's instructions, without full 

consideration of subject 64 

conversation with Garlington in regard to it, after return. .. 49 

copied June 4; given personally to Powell 61,1.55 

copy from origiual draft one prepared for Secretary of Navy. 60 

copy furnished Powell given Secretary of Navy ; so informed 

byC. S.O 62,75 

copy furnished newspapers by witness 44, 51 

copy given acting C. S. O. believed to be one taken to Secre- 
tary of Navy 60 

copy given acting C. S. O. not the one returned to him ; never 

saw that again 60 

copy given C. S. O. made before one to go with Garlington's 

instructions 53 

copy made on Sunday, June 3, 1883, first and only one pre- 
sented by witness 159 

copy not furnished newspapers, as part of Garlington's in- 
structions, prior to departure of expedition 158 

copy not original draft given the acting C. S.O 59, 60 

copy not submitted to Secretary of Navy 44 

copy placed with Mr. Garlington's instructions by witness.. 41 

copy placed with Garlington's instructions made by a clerk 

(not known) 60 

copy placed with Garlington's instructions submitted and 

identified 44 

copy so marked may not have been one had by Secretaries of 

War and Navy at time of conference 49 

C. S. 0. informed witness he had not used the memorandum . 158 

C. S. O. infoi-med witness he had taken memorandum to Navy 

Department 158 

date first draft was submitted to Captain Powell; why sat- 
isfied as to date 1.55 

did not assume it would go to Secretary of Navy unchanged; 

if it did, was in shape for immediate use 159 

did not discover until Garlington's return that the memoran- 
dum was recorded in record books as of that title ; when 

discovered 48 

discrepancies in views with regard to it explained 64 

does not distinctly remember conversation with Mr. Powell 

when he gave it to him 157 

does not know how it came into its present form 46 

does not know whether C. S. O. saw it prior to instructions 

being handed Garlington 41 

does not know who made alterations in copy from rough 

notes ; did not kuoAv there were any 42 

does not know why views embodied therein were rejected by 

C.S.O 44 

does not remember if C. S. O. had seen copy given Powell be- 
fore sent in Garlington's envelope 62 

S. Ex. 100 20 



288 NDEX TO PEOCEEDINGS. 

Page. 
Inclosure No. 4, does not remember if Mr. Powell took exception to views em- 
bodied therein 157 

does not remenirber whether copies furnished court and one 

given Garlington are in same handwriting 160 

does not think it was inside envelope when it came back from 

C. S.O 59 

does not think views contained in it contrary to Lieutenant 

Greely's in any essential feature 43 

efforts made to correct erroneous impressions conveyed to 

Secretaries of War and Navy 53 

extract of letter of Secretary of War, directing inquiry into 

its history, read 47 

first copy (one that disappeared), given to Mr. Powell 157 

first draft prepared by witness 41 

first draft submitted to Garlington ; understood him to ap- 
prove it 44 

framed merely for acceptance or rejection by higher author- 
ity 52 

Garlington's conversation with C. S. O. in regard to it, not 

known until Garlington's return 59 

Garlington's instructions signed, and returned with inclos- 

ures, without remark 62 

had no communication with C. S. O. during that officer's ab- 

scence in regard to it 53 

had no conversation with any one as regards views expressed 

therein prior to framing it 58 

history of first draft of "supplementary instructions".. .40,41,42,43 

how it came to be added to Garlington's instructions 156 

liow witness came to furnish newspapers with copy of it.. ..50,51,52 

in handwriting of clerk in witness' division 46 

in making copies of papers, custom is to compare all parts 

of them 48 

in original letter of instructions, no reference made to it 46 

instructed by Acting C. S. O. to prepare memorandum for 

use of Navy Department 58 

in same condition as those usually coming from C. S. O. for 

transmittal 59 

its being so marked an error 47 

memorandum original with witness, despite testimony that 

views embodied therein had previously been discussed 58 

merely embodied witness' views 43, 58 

never entered on regular books except as an inclosure to 

Garlington's instructions 158 

never heard its terms discussed prior to date he drafted 

them 58 

never made matter of record 158 

never saw copy made after witness gave it to Captain 

Powell 41 

not an order ; could not be so construed '. 45 

not entered in regular books at time he handed copy to 

Captain Powell 158 

not inserted with instructions through any personal wish 

or desire of witness 59 

one copy given Acting C. S. O., another to C. S. O 60 

one copy only among Garlington's papers 160 

opinion as to its value at time of Garlington's departure 58,59 

opinion now fixed not a part of Garlington's instructions.. . 64 

ordered by Captain Powell to get up memorandum 43 

original rough, retained by witness 61 

original shown witness and identified 46 

placed with "instructions"; why 59 

positive as to date it was prepared by him 52 

positive of date he gave copy to Powell, and that he never 

saw it afterwards 156 

Powell asked him to write it ; knew his views 52 

Powell did not instruct him to prepare it May 20 or 21. Why 

satisfied as to date 155 

Powell gave no instructions as to use to be made of it 157 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 289 



Inclosure No. 4, Powell nevei' saw rough draft of it ; saw copy made from it. 157 

prepared by wituess June 3, 1883 61 

prepared not as an order to Garlington, but to enable Secre- 
tary of Navy to prepare instructions for tender 61, 62 

record kept of it during Garlington's absence 42 

second copy ; history after it left his hands 62 

second copy; one placed with Garlington's instructions 61,62 

second copy ; what became of it 156, 157 

supposed Powell intended to give it to Secretary of Navy .. 158 

thinks C. S. 0. took it to Navy Department not earlier than 

June 6 158 

two drafts of original made ; disposition made of them 156 

understood C. S. O. that copy furnished Powell had been 

given Secretary of Navy 62, 75 

understood C. S. O. took it to Navy Department 158 

understood C. S. O. to say that it had been delivered to Sec- 
retary of Navy, and plan had been or would be drawn in 

conformity with it 44 

came back as if it was intention of C. S. O. it should accom- 
pany Garlington's instructions 59 

views contained discussed prior to convoy was thought of. . 58 
views expressed therein presented to C. S. 0. before Garling- 
ton's instructions were given 62 

was either inclosed in or with envelope containing the in- 
structions when it came back from C. S. O 59 

was not questioned why it was put with instructions sent 

C. S. O. for signature 59 

witness called attention of C. S. 0. to it two or three times. 158 

wituess gave no answer to inquiry if he knew how second 

copy got among Garlington's papers 156 

witness may have given Captain Powell papers borrowed 

June 3, with it 156 

witness's reasons for supposing Garlington approved it at 

time written 50, 54 

witness's understanding of what C. S. O. said with regard to 

views embodied in it 62 

when Garlington's instructions were received back, no refer- 
ence was noted that it was an inclosure to them 

when given to Powell, did not hand 'that officer any other 

papers 156 

when it came back, found Garlington's instructions signed 

by C. S. O 59 

who copied it; clerk now on duty in Washington Territory. 160 

why furnished copy to Powell instead of original draft 159 

why inserted in envelope containing Garlington's instruc- 
tions 63 

Littleton Island, discussion relating to landing stores might have taken place 

during absen ce from the office 58 

had no knowledge that discussion took place, prior to date 

he prepared "■ Inclosure 4" 60, 61 

made no suggestion on rough of instructions of June 4, as 

to propriety of landing stores on way up 63 

why believed it better to vary Greely's instructions, and 

make depot there on way up 43, 44 

Papers, drafts, prepared by witness, not read to C. S. O., from own hand- 
writing 158 

for C. S. O., as often prepared by dictation to stenographer, as in own 

handwri ting 159 

Signal Office, usual Sunday detail on duty June 3 159 

Supplementary instructions, history, and how they came to be marked " In- 
closure No. 4 " 47 

mentioned in records of Signal Office as " Inclos- 
ure No. 4" 45 

Yantic, date of letter asking for 52, 58 

movements in conformity with " Inclosure 4, " so informed by C. S. O. 62 



290 INDEX TO PEOCEEDINGS. 

CHANDLER, WILLIAM E., SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 

(Sworn ; testimony.) 

Page. 
Garlington expedition, no request made for purchase or charter of ship to 

accompany it 118 

would not undertake to say whether he had or had 
not authority to purchase or charter ship to accom- 
pany it 118 

Yantic, Admiral Cooper's letter to Commander Wildes, conveying instruc- 
tions, &c 116 

application for naval tender to accompany Arctic relief expedition of 

1883 114,115 

condition of boilers 117, 118 

considered the most available ship for expedition; why 118 

date of signing sailing orders 117 

C. S. 0. expressly stated in letter of May 14 that ship would not be 

required to enter the ice 118, 119 

Yantic's instructions, C. S. O. satisfied with instructions prepared for Com- 
mander Wildes 115, 116 

Yantic, furnished in compliance with request of War Department 118 

inspection reports of Chief Engineer Smith and Fleet Surgeon Brooks 117, 118 
interviews and negotiations, looking to securing naval tender for 

relief expedition of 1883 115 

movements from February 25 to May 22, 1883 116 

preparations for expedition ; letter of instructions to Commodore 

Upshur. 117,118,119 

quantity of rations furnished 118 

the furnishing of any part of her stores for use of Greely party 119 

what C. S. O. required of her 116 

what her commander was expected to do 119 

who determined what had to be done to prepare her for trip 119 

witness's letter detailing her for expedition 116 

CLAPP, WILLIAM H., CAPTAIN SIXTEENTH INFANTRY, U. S. A. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Act ( Congress) withdrawing Greely expedition 171 

Alhambra, not consulted relative to Garlington's request to go on ; heard of 

it 167 

Ammunition, don't know amount Mr. Greely had 166, 167 

Arctic expeditions, comparison between soldiers and sailors in Arctic waters. 187 

experiences of ships that have entered Smith's Sound 173 

locations of their main depots 173 

ships that got north of Cape Sabine, and brought back by 

their crews 173 

some of most successful in charge of landsmen 187 

(successful) commanded by landsmen, had crews composed 

of sailors 188 

that have entei'ed Smith's Sound, enumerated 172, 173 

to whom it should be intrusted; crew, discipline, &c 172 

whalers and sealers better than soldiers and sailors 188 

navigation, advantage of one time over another in going up 186 

dangers, possible and probable, to be provided against. .. 170 

service, witness's study of the subject •. 162 

Arms and ammunition supplied Mr. Greely 167 

Beebe expedition (1882), does not know who framed instructions for it 161 

(1882), object ; what was done to perfect it 161 

who Mr. Beebe was 162 

Depot, cache of provisions should have been made going up 171 

(Cape Sabine), conversation with C. S. O., referred to its location ; re- 
commended making, on way up 176 

(Cape Sabine), date of last conversation with C. S. O. ; landing stores 

on way up 174, 175 

conversation with C. S. O. on subject of making one on way up 168 

conversation with Garlington ; making dejjot on west coast, coming 

down 168 

C. S. O. considered establishment, on way north, a deviation from 

Greely's plan 163 



INDEX TO PEOCEEDINGS. 291 



Depot could be made on way up and still not interfere with Greely's views. 171 

establishment on way north, a modification of Greely's plan; not in 

conflict with it 165 

first suggested establishment, on way north, during winter of 1882, 

or early spring, 1883 165 

heard no suggestion one should be made at Littleton Island 168 

how far Greely's views would be met in making one on way up 171 

made suggestions subsequent to Garlington's arrival 165 

mentioned advantages, establishment at or above Cape Sabine, would 

betoGreely 164,165-168 

never heard C. S. O. express concurrence in any view looking to es- 
tablishment on way north 165 

no conversation with Garlington on subject of making, at Littleton 

Island 168 

why C. S. O. refused to adopt witness's suggestions to establish one 

going north 165 

witness's knowledge of proposed plan for making, on way north 163 

witness's views and recommendations to plan of making, on way 

north 163 

made by prior expeditions, entering Smith's Sound, on way up 173 

Duty, and service in Signal Office 161 

Expedition of 1883, connection ended on Garlington's assuming charge 166 

Garlington expedition, advantage of reaching Life Boat Cove or Cape Sabine 

earlier 187 

Arctic matters turned over to Garlington on his ar- 
rival 162 

boats furuislied ; number and description 178 

consultations, and precautions to make it a suc- 
cess 176,177,178 

conversations; what to be done in case of disaster. .. 167, 168 
conversation with Caziarc ; landing stores, on way up. 184 

conversation with Garlington touching possibility of 

disaster. 166 

C. S. 0- approved jdans submitted by witness at vari- 
ous times 162 

C S. O. impressed him as being desirous to promote 

its success 162 

does not think provision for possible disaster fully 

considered 165-168 

efforts of witness to make it a success 176, 177 

frequently consulted in regard to 178 

had frequent conversations with C. S. O. on subject of 

relief expedition 162 

had freqneut conversations with Garlington relative 

to it _. 162 

had 15 months' supplies for both parties 163 

if unable to reach Greely, supplies taken to feed both 

parties , 163 

intention to provide master and crew familiar with 

Arctic navigation 170 

kept memorandum of suggestions and ideas relat- 
ing to 162 

knows of nothing neglected 178-184 

knows nothing of history of Caziarc's telegram, June 

28, 1881, or why not answered 167 

made necessary by partial failure of first relief expe- 
dition - 162 

no attempt to fix date Proteus should reach Lady 

Franklin Bay 187 

no discussion aa to where portable house should be 

stowed 179 

no plans for packing portable house 178, 179 

orders of prepa.ration carefully studied 178, 184 

supplies obtained prior to Garlington's arrival 162 

unable to state whether provisions for safety of boats 

were carried out 178 

views why stores were not lauded on way up 186 

whether Greely was the best judge of what should 

be done for his relief 188,189 



292 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Paga 
Garlington expedition, winter quarters on west coast, no material departure 

from Greely's plan 186 

winter quarters on west coast not at Life Boat Cove; 

: why 186 

Garlington's instructions, based on possibility of Greely's supplies being ex- 
hausted 163 

clause referring to exhaustion of Greely's supplies; 

why inserted 168,169,176 

C. S. O. directed they should conform to Greely's 

plan 170 

explanations of conflicting testimony 185, 186 

made a rough draft by direction of C. S. O 163 

not complete ; wherein 169, 170 

propriety of providing for disaster 170, 171 

rough draft retained by C. S. O 163 

saw rough draft several times afterwards, but had 

nothing further to do with them 163 

when drafted 166 

when witness drafted them had not heard naval 

tender would go 166 

why more specific instructions were not issued 166 

Greely expedition ; Greely reported caches made on his waj- north 176 

had an abundance of supplies to last till fall of 1883, and 

something more 163 

history of its fitting out, &c 161 

knew quantity of stores and supplies had on its departure. 163 

time Greely's stores would last never definitely estimated. 163 

trip of Proteus to Lady Franklin Bay an exceptional one. 188 

Greely's experience not entitled to paramount consideration 189 

to what limited 188 

Greely's plan contemplated relief by the Army 172 

heard no discussion relative to relief by Navy 172 

propriety of expedition being under control of Navy 172 

relief expedition may be successful with Army or Navy 172 

Greely relief expedition, date witness was relieved from duty in connection 

with 174 

views as to propriety of its being in charge of 

Navy 187 

Ice navigation, master and crew exjjected to prevent danger 188 

Inclosure 4, conversation with Caziarc; making depot on way up 166 

conversation with Caziarc; winter station at Cape Sabine 166 

did not entirely embody his idea ; difference 166 

no knowledge of ; when first heard of it 166 

Letter of General Hazen, November 23, 1883, not found 184 

Secretary of War, relating to Navy taking charge of expedition ; 

remembered 172 

Plan of relief did not take into consideration contingency of disaster 170 

Proteus crushed July 23, 1883 187 

reached Smith Sound as early as navigation is practicable 187 

Provisions, no necessity for carrying all, to Lady Franklin Bay 171, 172 

Eetreat, by boats, latitude 82°, as late as September 1 168 

by sledges, latitude 82°, as late as September 1 168 

Smith Souud, ships that have actually got into it enumerated 173 

Witness does not wish to qualify anything in letters of November 27 and 

December 1, 1883 179 

Witness' letter, November 27, 1883, to recorder of court , 183 

letter, December 1, 1883, to Adjutant-General Drum 181 

letter, December 1, 18h3, to General Hazen 181 

Yantic, first knowledge of intention to ask for naval tender 165 

COLWELL, JOHN C, LIEUTENANT, U. S. N. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Arctic expeditions, number and history of such as passed north of Cape Sa- 
bine, through Smith Sound 205,206 

trip, and time made by Sir George Nares, from Cape Sabine 

to Discovery Harbor 206 

Boats, from Brooklyn navy yard, not as carefully fitted as they should be ; 

in what defective 73 



INDEX TO PEOCEEDINGS 293 

Page. 

Brevoort Island, cove in which provisions vrere cached 208 

Cairns, practical use between Carey Islands and Pandora Harbor 78 

Cape Sabine, list of clothinj^- left ; no provisions at 207 

provisions cached three miles west 207 

quantity of clothing cached at 208 

quantity of rations cached near 208 

Garlington expedition, after wi-eck, Garlington and self thoiight best to go 

soiith ; only difference where to separate 75 

after wreck, had frequent consultations with Garling- 
ton what shotild be done 75 

all stores that could possibly be saved secured 69 

approved Garlington's course after wreck except in 

one particular ; what that was 71 

arms and ammunition x>arty had after wreck 76 

articles left on floe after disaster 205 

conversation between Garlington and Pike prior to 

leaving Payer Harbor 203,204 

course to be pursued determined at Cape Sabine 208 

description of disaster ; wind, ice, tide, &c 94 

detached from Garlington's command at Cape York.. 71 
did not hear Garlington remonstrate with Pike as to 

position of ship when stopped 94 

did not hear Pike say water north of Payer Harbor 

not good 204 

did not hear Pike tell Garlington they were too early; 

might have done so 204 

. ■" don't recall conference with Garlington and Pike 

after wreck 208 

don't recall that Pike advised waiting few days for 

Yantic 208 

Dr. Harrison joined Garlington's boat at Cape York.. 74 
everything possible done by Garlington and party to 

save and secure stores 69 

ice sighted, little after 11 a. m., July 22 207 

Garlington's views as to landing stores and making 

camp in Arctic region 71 

going up, had no consultation with Garlington as to 

best course to pursue 74, 75 

headlands seen from Littleton Island 206 

how far ice can be seen 207 

how he connected with it 68 

how stores were found when came to be used 70 

landing stores from ice ; boats used 204, 205 

made suggestion that he should go south at Cape Sa- 
bine; Garlington did not act on it 76 

might have me^ Yantic in Melville Bay, if had started 

south immediately after wreck 78 

no ice seen from Littleton Island 9 a. m. July 22 206,207 

party did not stop at Carey Island on way down ; why. 76, 77 

Payer Harbor protected from ice 93 

Pike's remarks at Littleton Island, and on day ship 

got to Payer Harbor 206 

practical use of leaving records between Carey Island 

and Pandora Harbor 78 

probable time gained, if permitted to go south at once ; 

water open to Carey Islands 71, 77, 78 

Proteus could have got out of ice-pack first night and 

gone back to Payer Harbor 93 

Proteus frequently stopped by unbroken, impenetra- 
ble ice 70 

Proteus trying to work out of pack when lost 94 

Proteus in ice-pack six miles when stopped ; should 

have gone back to Payer Harbor first night 93 

remembers nothing in particular that he said to Pike 

before entering Payer Harbor 206 

thinks Garlington and self did best they could after 

wreck 75 

thinks Garlington and party did everything possible 

to carry out object of his instructions 71 



294 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Page. 
Garlington expedition, thinks result would have been different if Proteus 

had been commanded by a naval officer 93 

views as to what should be done by Garlington at 

time of wreck 69 

who, of Army party, had nautical knowledge 74 

witness moved effects on Proteus June 28 ; sailed from 

St. John's next day 68 

witness an officer of Yantic ; when first became ac" 

quainted with Garlington 68 

witness told Garlington after wreck not to let Pike 

have whale boat ; why 204, 205 

witness' account of Pike's request for a boat to take 

off stores on floe 204 

witness' idea was to bring Yantic to Garlington, if 

permitted to go south 78 

witness' general testimony corresponds with notes 

taken on way up 207 

Garlington's instructions, read them and Greely's letter of advice ; was famil- 
iar with each 70 

Garlington's report presents correct and faithful account of what occurred, 

until parted company 68 

Greely's mail, don't know where stored 208 

(tin can), floated down stream 208 

Ice met in Melville Bay ; character and description 69, 70 

met in Melville Bay, pack-ice 77 

met US' coast of Labrador; character and description 69 

Inclosure No. 4, had no conversation with Garlington in regard to it until 

party got back to St. John's 70 

Littleton Island, did not think it advisable to go there and wait for Yantic; 

why 71 

discussed with Garlington idea of making depot on way up. 71 
time it would have occupied to land 15,000 rations at or 

near 70 

Melville Bay, did not know anything of the western passage 77 

exceptional voyages have been made across it when no ice seen. 77 

regarded as most perilous part of route of Arctic travel 77 

seemed full of ice ; ice had not broken out of bight of bay in 

1883 77 

Pike, Captain, action in keeping Proteus in ice-pack after she was stopped.. 93 

capacity of that officer and mate 93 

conduct after the disaster 204 

remarks when ship was stopped 94 

Proteus, best ship that could be chartered at St. John's. 72 

could have been put in good condition before sailing ; probable time 

it would occupy 72 

description of her imperfect condition and equipment 72, 73 

grapnels and ice-hooks furnished small boats ; description 74 

heard of no trouble with boiler 72 

lost in a fog ; devious course made 73 

not as well equipped as might have been 72 

officers not well fitted for positions ; why 73 

small boats not provided with water casks 74 

stores (1882) shipped before joined; does not know condinion in 

which found 68 

when reported to Garlington nearly all stores had been shipped 68 

witness entered description of ship and boat in private note-book. .. 207 

Proteus' crew, arms, &c., in their possession 95 

behavior at time of wreck 68 

conduct after disaster 95, 205 

depredations by 95, 96 

language used by Captain Pike with regard to them 68, 69 

one of them said Pike would never get back to St. John's 205 

Pike had no control over them after wreck 95, 96 

quantity of stores, and time for which provisioned 76 

understood Pike was to take arms and ammunition from them; 

never did 95 

Sabine Islands not on route usually followed across Melville Bay ." 78 

Sealing captains not accustomed to navigate Arctic ice 93 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 295 



Yantic, arraugements made to touch at certain points and leave record of 

progress 76 

believed Lad a bare cbance to get to Littleton Island by going west- 
ward in Melville Bay 73 

believed would not get to Littleton Island way Pi'oteus did 73 

believed the best thing was to go down to Danish settlements and 

wait for her 74 

chances of getting through would not have induced him waiting at 

Littleton Island 74 

complement in of6 cers and men 70 

did not touch at Northumberland Island on way up 78 

does not think conld have accompanied Proteus through the ice 70 

expected to meet her at Upernavik 78 

found no record or news of her at Cape York 77 

if arrai)ged to return to certain points, i)arty could remain at one of 

them until her return 77 

no arrangement made to return to places touched on her way up 76 

passage through ice in Melville Bay would have been unusually dan- 
gerous to her 70 

preparations made for Artie service 70 

probable reason ship did not naeet them 71 

thinks it would have been a good idea if left record at Northumber- 
land Island on way up 78 

touched at Carey Island and Pandora Harbor going up 77 

understood she carried 8 mouths' navy rations 70 

under the circumstances, does not know why sent up 74 

Yantic's instructions, does not recall Commander Wildes telling him his in- 
structions would not permit him to enter ice-pack .. 71 
formed opinion Commander Wildes would not cross 

Melville Bay 70 

formed opinion Commander Wildes would not enter 

Arctic ice 70 

had no knowledge except from hearsay 69 

what Commander Wildes said about not going into ice. 69 

GARLINGTON, ERNEST, FIRST LIEUTENANT 7TH CAVALRY. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Alhambra, application to go on her to St. John's 9 

commissary and medical stores inspected - 5 

date of arrival at St. John's not remembered 10 

present shipping stores ; did not verify them 5 

reply to application received after ship sailed 9 

Sergeant Wall sailed on her^ but left ship at Halifax 10 

stores carried known 5 

Antiscorbutics left by Beebe at St. John's deteriorated 125 

Arms and ammunition not found ; search made 5, 6 

party had, at time of wreck 6 

Brevoort Island, record left after wreck 11 

Cape Sabine, Depot A as Beebe left it, except boat 11, 12 

Greely did not visit on way up 11 

notice left in cairn before wreck 11 

Clothing, with certain exception, good 125, 126 

Conference at St. John's after wreck; who present, and what said 140 

Court of Inquiry, witness to be recalled any time by 23 

Depot, did not intend to make one at Littleton Island 14-21 

orders required winter quarters at Life Boat Cove 21 

stores should be landed on west coast ; not at Littleton Island ; why. . 128 

wished to make one at Cape Prescott ; why 21 

Depot A to be made north of Littleton Island 22 

Depot B to be made at Littleton Island 22 

Depots, views as to establishment of intermediate 20 

Depots A, B, no discussion as to true meaning of Greely's wishes 20 

stores for, packed and stored under forecastle 9 

when and where Greely desired them made 22 

why materials were prepared at Disko 9 



296 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Paga, 

Duties from February, 1883, until witness left on expedition 126 

Duty from February, 1883, until left St. John's 4 

from graduatiou (1876) until detailed for expedition 4 

movements in January and February, 1883 4 

Garllngton expedition, acted on belief Yantic would not get to Littleton 

Island 15 

by whom ship's movements were directed from first 

barrier until sunk 140 

channel between Carey Islands and mainland 14 

consultations with Colwell after wreck 22,23 

conversation with Colwell after wreck 14 

dates witness sailed from New York and arrived at 

St. John's 5-10 

deemed it inadvisable to wait for Yau tic after wreck. 14 
delay at Littleton Island might obstruct passage 

north; why 22 

delay in getting north might be disastrous 22 

did what thought best after wreck 14 

more stores could not be saved 16 

uo representative of Signal Service present at St. 

John's to superintend shipping stores ; why 5 

uo suggestion made to Pike after ship left Payer 

Harbor 140 

Proteus shipped stoi'es prior to arrival at St. John's; 

exception 5 

route followed from Littleton Island after disaster.. 14 

Sergt. Wall did not go Avith it 5 

stores shipped from N. Y. and stowed in Proteus at 

St. John's - 5 

where and how stores were packed on Proteus for 

emergencies 9 

Garlington's instructions as regards Yantic 12, 13 

had no official conversation with regard to them. 126 
had some general conversation with regard to • 

them 126 

Greelv's letter August 17, 1881, submitted and iden- 
tified 17 

Inclosure 2, Appendix A (closing scientific work), 

submitted and identified 17 

Inclosure 3 (list of stores invoiced to Greely) sub- 
mitted and identified 17 

leading thought to reach Discovery Harbor 21 

list of stores, where cached, &c 17 

nothing occurred in Signal Office to lead to be- 
lief they intended stores landed on way up 21 

original draft submitted to C. S. O.; when 127 

original shown and identified 6 

purposely made no suggestions; why 126,127 

rough draft of it referred to witness 126 

subject of landing stores on way up not discussed 

in his presence 21 

taking advantage of every lead paramount to 

waiting for Yantic 22 

when and Avhere first saw them 23 

when to land party and stores at Life Boat Cove. 21 
Garllngton party, Lieut. Colwell and men shipped at St. John's included as 

practical seamen 10, 16 

men with witness at time of wreck 16 

nautical experience 10, 16 

strength on leaving St. John's 5 

time for which rationed 5 

Garlington's report correct ; made from original data 6 

duplicate of original shown and identified 6 

original submitted and identified 16, 17 

Greely expedition, knowledge of amount of supplies in its possession 126,127 

Greely Eelief Expedition, volunteered for it; date reached Washington 4 

Hazeii's telegram, to issue no instructions, &c., known to witness 127 

Ice (Melville Bay) movements ; character 15 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 297 

rage. 

Inclesure 4, Caziarc in adjoining room during conversation in regard to it 7 

conversation with Caziarc relating to additional instructions 7, 8 

C. S. O. stated he did not know how it got among witness' 

papers 7, 22 

described also as instructions for Yantic and Proteus 6, 7 

expressed no approval of it 127 

history of paper 6, 7 

informed C. IS. 0. it conflicted with instructions 7,22 

informed C. S. 0. it was found among his papers 7,22 

in whose handwriting 17 

memoranda placed oit it by Caziarc and witness 17 

no conversation with Caziarc after interview with C. S. O. ; why. 8 

no marks on it when foxind 17 

only reference to landing stores on way up 21 

remarked Caziarc probably put it among his papers 7 

submitted and identified .^ 17 

viewed it expression of Ca^rarc's private opinion 8 

views in regard to it 127 

when first seen by witness ; where 23 

when next seen ; where 23 

where memoranda on it were made 17 

why marked " Inclosure 5" by witness 17 

witness' language to Caziarc in regard to it 127 

Life Boat Cove intended as depot, also winter station 14, 21 

Littleton Island a barren rock 14, 21 

did not contemplate landing anything there 14 

duty not to stop there on way up 19 

expected to get provisions from Yantic at 19,20 

reasons for believing Yantic Avould not get to 9 

time, landing stores on way up 22 

Matches, in water-tight boxes ; had plenty 21 

Melville Bay, distance across ; time occupied in run 14 

Payer Harbor, conversation, prior to going into ice 140 

Pemmican, left by Beebe at St. John's; condition; where bought 125 

Pike, Captain, conversation had at Pa5'er Harbor ; who present 140 

did not say he was doing anything against his judgment 139, 140 

experience as an ice navigator 10 

instance where witness deferred to his judgment 140 

knowledge of nautical and astronomical instruments 10 

not a scientific, educated seaman 10 

views as to his careless navigation 139, 141, 142 

witness did not advise him to do anything against his judg- 
ment 139 

Proteus, amount and quality of provisions 138 

by whom observations were made 142 

engine, rigging, sails, boats, &c 138 

naval officer inspected ship 16 

navigation on the way up 139 

never discussed what should be done if lost 126 

never heard any discussion what should be done if lost 126 

no instructions given in case of loss 126 

not driven out of course by ice ; how it occurred 142 

owners promised select crew 16 

Pike was ice master ; no regular one had 10 

ship and equipment as compared with other ships 138, 139 

Proteus' crew, character of those shipped 16 

conduct after ship was nipped 139 

misbehavior did not contribute to result of expedition 16 

misbehavior prevented additional stores from being put on floe 16 

naval officers did not select it 16 

no fault found until ship was nipped 139 

numerical strength 16 

pay ceased when ship sank 139 

pemmican issued on retreat 125 

Pike's statement with regard to 16 

selected by ship's owners 10 

Provisions excellent 125 

Eockets and Coston lights, had large supply 21 



298 INDEX TO PKOCEEDINGS. 

Page. 

Southeast Carey Islands, condition of stores found there 11 

Yisited the cache 11 

Suhsistence stores, selected, to needs of climate ; character 21, 125 

Trip from New York to St. John's occupies seven or eight days 10 

Wildes' instructions, Caziarc informed him Yantic would not go into ice 8 

did not see, until return 8 

informed by Commander Wildes, had orders not to enter 

ice-pack 8 

knowledge of them, how ascertained 8, 19 

landing stores for expeditions of 1881 and 1863 14 

not to go into ice-pack 8, 19 

Yantic, chances against getting to Littleton Island 14, 15 

could not go into fast ice with safety 18 

did not expect her to accompany him ; why 12, 13 

expected as far north as Cape York 19 

expected to meet her on way south ^jBrhy 19 

expected to depend upon himself airer left Disko 13 

had an ice-master 10 

no control over movements 22 

no conversation with C. S. O. about naval tender 8 

not prepared to go into ice ; why 15 

sent to satisfy public opinion 15 

ships would separate when ice-pack would be met 14 

tender should be able to pass through ordinary ice 15 

views as to her use to expedition 13, 14 

why expressed hope of meeting at Littleton Island 14 

Yantic's crew, numerical strength 15 

Yantic-Proteus agreement, by whom handed to witness 18 

circumstances under which made ; assistance ex- 
pected 12, 13 

copied correctly 23 

copy submitted and identified 17 

copy in witness' handwriting 18 

conversations with Wildes 18 

did not expect ships to go together 18, 19 

made at St. John's 8 

no objection or protest against anything in it.. 23 

no other arrangement asked ; why 18, 23 

not signed by either principal 18,22 

not to interfere with progress north 12, 13 

only arrangement made with regard to joint 

movements 18 

original in handwriting of Cadet Howard 18 

original in witness' possession 17 

prepared by Commander Wildes 18 

propriety of arraoging more points of rendezvous 128 

saw Wildes after receiving it 23 

submitted by Wildes as result of conference 22 

tenor, best under circumstances 23 

what it was; correction made 23,33 

what understood by clause relating to loss of 

Proteus 19 

why made 15 

Wildes did not expect Proteus would stay long 

at Disko 19 

HARRISON, JOHN STEWART, ACTING ASSISTANT SURGEON, U. S. A. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Appointment, date of; rank 122 

Garlington expedition, accompanied 122 

date sailed from New York; arrived at St. John's 122 

Garlington's report, a faithful account 122 

Kenny, Sergeant, now in city 123 

Pike (Caj)tain), abilities and character 122 

Proteus' crew, conduct before and after wreck 122, 123 

r Pike intimated they were scoundrels 123 

Pike's statements with regard to them 123 

w^ho reported mutinous demonstrations 122 

everything done by Garlington party to save 122 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 299 

HAZEN, WILLIAM B., CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER. 

(Sworn : testimony.) 

Page. 

Alhambra, Garlington telegraphed to go with entire party 37 

why Garlingtou's request was denied 38 

Arctic expedition, to Lady Franklin Bay, conceived, and law passed prior to 

entering upon duty as C. S. O 24 

Arctic navigation, naval ships not prepared for entering ice found above Lit- 
tleton Island 35 

statements with regard to 110, 111 

Beehe expedition, no exception taken to passing north of Littleton Island 

without landing stores 33 

would have been better if it had left all provisions at Cape 

Sabine 100 

Cape Sabine, distance, by ordinary route along shore, to Discovery Harbor . . 38 

Caziarc, Lieut., only original work performed was to compile llmem." 34 

Clapp (Capt.) aided witness in all matters connected with expedition 190 

in charge of Arctic matters until Garlingtou's arrival 36 

informed he could not go on 1883 expedition 190 

Coal purchased at St. John's for Garlington ; not for Greely 30 

Greely reported good coal found at Discovery Harbor 30 

Depot, why placed ou east instead of west coast of Smith's Sound 190 

Depots, points at which stores have been landed ; quantity, and distance be- 
tween each 38 

to be made by Garlington ; where 34 

Depots A B, approved of Mr. Beebe's course in not making them on His way 

north 33, 34 

construes Greely 's letter to mean, should be established on way 

south 34 

established by Mr. Beebe 33, 34 

expedition of 1882 to establish them returning, if it could not 

get through 33 

Greely's letter contemplated making, only in case of failure to 

reach him 33 

Desertions of men brought from northwest in 1882-83 210 

of men occurred after return of expedition 210 

Expedition of 1882 did not get within 150 miles of Lady Franklin Bay 24 

fitted out in exact accordance with Greely's recommenda- 

dation 24 

history, &c - 24,25 

Expedition of 1883, Liieutenant Garlington, Seventh Cavalry, ordered in charge 

of \ 25 

thinks it should not have been confided entirely to Navy; 

why 35 

Garlington, Lieutenant, intimation he had disobeyed instructions given out 

by Lieutenant Caziarc 34 

Garlington expedition, abseut when it returued 31 

amount of provisions Greely had, known at date of 

dei^arture 124 

appropriation as large as asked 27 

carried or sent, in place of " Mem.," ord^'s prepared 

for Mr. Garlington 25 

causes which seemed to require a variance of Greely's 

plan when to land stores 32 

Caziarc uever charged with work of expedition 34 

Commander McCalla and witness remained at St. 

John's five days 102 

correspondence furnished contain all material papers 

bearing upon rescue or relief of Greely 28 

did not discuss with Garlington propriety of landing 

stores further than stated 36,37 

duty assigned Sergeant Wail ; his conduct 27 

Garlington had explicit orders to see everything went 

on ship at New York 210 

Garlington had full knowledge of entire scheme and 

plan for Greely's relief 26 

Garlington made application to go on Alhambra to 

St. John's 27 



300 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 



Oarlington expedition, Garlington not to permit movements of Yantic to in- 
terfere with progress north 37 

Garlington unable to iind arms, &c 27 

history, &c 25 

knows nothing which operated to prevent instruc- 
tions for joint action being made 36 

last two or three Arctic expeditions, under control of 

Navy, unsuccessful 36 

on return from St. John's, informed Navy Department 

had asked for plan of what to be done 25 

personally informed official in charge of Navy Depart- 
ment what to be done and what expected of tender 25 
plan of making depot on west side of Smith's Sound 

thought of and discussed 26 

plan of rescue or relief of Greely party matured be- 
fore Greely left 26 

plan to land stores at Littleton Island thought of and 

discussed 26 

Proteus nipped in ice and sunk 130 or 140 miles from 

Lady Franklin Bay 25 

provided witl I three sledges ; how made 36 

sending a tender seemed to obviatenecessity of vary- 
ing Greely 's directions 26 

supposed Garlington would ascertain, on way up, 

where everything was 210 

tender obviated necessity of deviating from Greely's 

plan 32 

understood Secretary of Navy said its responsibility 

must rest with the Army 124 

views as to Garlington's stopping at Littleton Island 

on way up 26 

views as to use tender would be to it ; what expected 

of her 32 

when Proteus was expected to reach Littleton Island 

and Lady Franklin Bay 190 

why Greely's plan, placing depot at Littleton Island 

or Life Boat Cove, was adhered to 190 

why Wall, and not Lieutenant Garlington, was di- 
rected to superintend loading stores at St. John's.. 35 
why thought best, at one time, to land stores at Lit- 
tleton Island on way up 32 

why witness denied Garlington permission to go on 

Alhambra 27-35 

would have been better if iustructious for joint action 

by Army and Navy had been prepared 36 

Garlington's instructions, acted upon them immediately (Juue 4) 97 

Captain Clapp framed the first rough draft 36 

did not add anything to them June 4 98 

did not feel authorized to give Garlington detailed 

instructions as to duties 26 

^ does not remember when last remark was added . . 98, 99 
does not remember whether Powell presented them 

for signature 97 

does not remember whether he examined any in- 

closure to them 98 

does not think he saw memorandum ("inclosure 4") 25 

don't know why it stated Greely's supplies would 

he exhausted in fall of 1883 1 01 

essentially the same as those furnished the 1882 

expedition ; where they differed 33, 34 

probable effect statement that Greely's supplies 

would be exhausted in 1883 had on Garlington . . 101 
what intended by inclosures accompanying ; wit- 
ness' recollections 98 

why Greely's plan was adhered to in them 189 

Garlington party left New York June 13 35 

Greely expedition, at time of Garlington's departure amount of provisions 

had known 124 

believes enough stores are on west side of Smith's Sound 
to support it during winter of 1883 38 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 301 



Greely expedition, error as regards amount of provisions had by Greely 190 

Greely asked additional supplies; why 101 

Greely asked supplies for 40 men for one year 100, 101 

history, &c 24 

list of subsistence stores furnished 28, 29, 30 

native food obtained at or near Fort Conger 30 

provisions, can start south with 38 

sailed from St. John's first week in July, 1881 24 

views as to Greely cutting loose from base of supplies 38 

Greely's instructions, September 1, 1883, fixed by Greely as date to begin re- 
treat 27,31 

to retreat by way of Grinnell Land, read 26 

Greely's plan for 1882 expedition sent from Lady Franklin Bay . . 24 

submitted to him , 24 

Hawkins, General John P., request that he be summoned as witness 96 

Hazen, General, arrived at Signal Office June 4 (8 o'clock a.m.) 211 

letter reciting what he expected to prove by certain wit- 
nesses 120,121 

telegrams forwarded from Washington Territory after dis- 
aster 1 191,192 

Inclosure 4, absent at time copy sent to Secretary of War 34 

carried or sent, in place of, orders prepared for Garlington 25 

did not intend should be part of Garlingtou's instructions 98 

did not know copy had been furnished until shown by Garling- 
ton , 

does not know why defective copy was sent to Secretary of War 

for Secretary of Navy 34 

does not remember who presented papers for his signature 97 

does not think original or copy shown chief Bureau of Naviga- 
tion 98 

does not think original, or copy shown Secretary of Navy 98 

Garlington expressed surprise at finding among his orders ; asked 

how it got there 25 

Gai'lington found it among orders, and brought it to witness 25 

Garlington informed he must be controlled by witness' orders. .. 25 

Garlington informed it was no part of his orders • 25 

Garlington informed of history of " mem." 25 

Garlington informed witness did not feel authorized to change 

or give orders in conflict with Greely's letter 26-189 

had no recollection of it until shown by Garlington 97,98 

history, and what induced its preparation 31, 32 

knows nothing of correspondence between Signal Office and War 

and Navy Departments after return of expedition 30, 31 

"mem." discussed prior to request for teuder 31 

never knew copies had been sent Secretary of Navy 34 

never knew copy, correct or defective, had been sent to Secre- 
tary of War 34 

- ordered no one to furnish Garlington copy 37 

said nothing to Garlington that would lead him to think it wit- 
ness' suggestion 37 

Instructions to Mr. Beebe and Lieutenant Garlington made to conform to 

Greely's requests ; why 36 

Kenny, Sergeant ; believes he was honorably discharged 210 

Littleton Island ; believed both ships would reach there ; why 32-37 

believes Garlington carried out spirit of instructions in not 

stopping there 37 

believes it would have contributed to Greely's safety to 

have made depot there on way up 38 

feasibility of a ship getting there 99 

Malloy, Thos. N., U. S. consul at St. John's ; request that he be summoned as 

witness 96 

U. S. consul, did not reply to witness' letter of November 13 110 

Navy Department, what witness said there 98 

Naval tender, request for, made May 14 35 

Pike (Captain), copy of Greely's letter commendatory of, read 109, 110 

U. S. Consul Malloy's letter, that Pike wished to be exam- 
ined, read 110 

witness' letter to U. S, Consul Malloy, in regard to examina- 
tion of Pike, read 110 



302 INDEX TO PKOCEEDINGS. 



Proteus, agent procured boiler-maker for 109 

charter party (Signal Service Notes, No. 10) 101 

got througli to Lady Franklin Bay and returned (61 days) 24 

historj^ of chartering 96 

impressions as regards captain, oiificers, and crew 101, 102 

inspection by witness and Lieutenant-Commander McCalla 101 

observations as regards boats and equipments 102 

■witness proceeded to St. John's and hired ship 25 

witness requests that her captain, agent, and owners be summoned 

as witnesses 96 

Proteus' crew, no special instructions in charter party 101 

owners promised it would be of the best character 101 

thinks it material to establish it w as a proper one 125 

Sealers go to northern part of Baffin's Bay ; ice met Ill 

observations in regard to 102 

Secretary of Navy, letter of Secretary of War, May 14, 1883, only written cor- 
respondence known to wdtuess in regard to tender 27, 28 

Signal Office, period, in 1883, during which Captain Mills in charge 31 

took charge in December, 1880 24 

Wildes' instructions, conversations with Secretary of Navy and Commodore 

Walker 100 

does not remember Secretary of Navy asking if they 

were satisfactory 99 

nature not communicated to witness until after disas- 
ter 99 

not furnished Signal Office until after disaster 35, 99 

records fail to show request made for them 35 

Secretary of Navy said nothing other than they had 

been issued at witness' request 99 

Witnesses, inquiries as to knowledge possessed by certain persons 97 

Yantic, application for naval tender made few days prior to May 14 211 

Commodore Walker intimated Navy would furnish war ship, not an 

ice boat 211 

date subject of asking for naval tender vras first spoken 211 

did not specify amount of stores should carry 100 

doubts expressed as to reaching Littleton Island 100 

interviews at Navy Department subsequent to May 14, 1883 28 

made official request that naval ship be forwarded as tender to Pro- 
teus 25 

meaning of telegram, "Tender to goto southern limits of ice-pack".. 99 
no assurance given she would provide provisions for Greely or Gar- 

lington parties 28 

no request made she should provide provisions for the two expedi- 
tious 28 

to go to Littleton Island 28 

told not a fit ship to enter pack 37 

why an earlier application for naval tender was not made 211 

why witness made no request ship should carry extra supplies 124 

willing to risk safety of expedition upon her reaching Littleton 

Island 100 

witness had no doubt she would reach Littleton Island 100 

witness satisfied would take a supply of rations sufficient for all 

emergencies 124 

witness' kno wedge of ship, and preparations made for trip 37 

wrote Secretary of Navy he did not intend ship should go in ice-pack. 99 

KENNY, JOHN. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Deserters from party prior to leaving New York 136, 137 

Desertion, no disposition on part of others to desert 137 

Differences, knows of none between Gariington and Pike 137 

Duty, position on expedition 135 

Gariington expedition, failure due to unavoidable accident 135 

volunteered to go on it 136 

Gariington report, has not read it 136 

Pike, Captain, did not hear him disapprove conduct of crew 136 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 3.03 

Page. 

Proteus' crew, cliaracter of 138 

conduct 135 

details of intended mutinous conduct 136, 137 

precautions against 137 

Stores, every effort made to save them 135, 136 

LAMAR, WILLIAM H., SERGEANT, SIGNAL SERVICE. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Chronometers (5) saved by Ellis and witness 133 

Differences, Garlington, Pike, saw none 143 

Pike's statement in regard to 133, 143 

Pike's statement not made in Gaiiington's presence 134 

Duty, assigned 131 

Garlington expedition, accompanied and returned with it 131, 142 

boats and chronometers saved 142 

cause of failure 133 

in cabin or after deck most of time 143 

in Lieutenant Colweil's boat on i-etreat 134 

Garlington report, read it ( thinks Garlington mistaken about time ship went 

down... 132,133 

Observations, for latitude and longitude, by witness 134 

Photographs taken ; when 131 

Pike (Captain), views as to his ability as a navigator 134 

Proteus sank five minutes after abandonment 131 

Proteus' crew, conduct prior to and after wreck 132, 134, 135 

Pike's disapprobation of conduct of 132 

remark of second engineer in regard to pocket chronometer.. 143 

Rank in Signal Service ; length of service in corps 135 

Stores, Garlington party did everything to save 132 

part taken by Proteus' crew in saving 132 

M'CALLA, BOWMAN, LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER, U. S. N. 

(Sworn ; testimony.) 

Garlington expedition, did not see outfit or equipment 108 

Garlington's instructions, sent to C. S. O. to obtain a copy 114 

Hazen, General, did not see him at Navy Department after interview 114 

does not recall conversation with 113 

when and how he returned with that officer 108 

Inclosure 4, did not see it in Signal Office 113 

no conversation with C. S. O. in regard to it 113, 114 

what did with it ; don't know what became of it 114 

when and where first saw it : how marked 113, 114 

Inspection, C. S. 0. accompanied him twice 108 

Inspections, time occupied in making 108 

Pike, Captain, officers and crew ; impressions as regards 107, 108 

opinion as regards 109 

what he said to C. S. 0. in regard to him 109 

Proteus, age of boats - 108 

comparison between that and other sealers seen at St. John's 108, 109 

details of inspection, &c 106, 107 

did not make close inspection of boats 108 

don't know that engineer he saw went with expedition 109 

inspected ; when 106 

inspection report submitted and identified 106 

recommended hiring boiler-maker ; why 107 

steering compass, boats, &c Ill 

tonnage ; what heard relative to boilers 109 

unable to state displacement 112 

would have selected ship, captain, and chief engineer for trip 109 

Sealers, no previous experience in regard to 108 

only saw four at St. John's Ill 

Wildes' instructions, don't know if furnished C. S. O 135 

Yantic, by whose order alterations made 135 

knowledge of negotiations between War and Navy Departments.. . 113 

least number of men that could handle her 112 

preparation for expedition 112 

tonnage, displacement, &c 112 

S, Ex. 100 21 



304 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Page. 

Yantic's instructions, does not know why C. S. O. was not furnished copy 114 

had nothing to do with them 114 

prepared subsequent to interview with C. S. O 113 

MILLS, SAMUEL M., CAPTAIN FIFTH ARTILLERY. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Beehe's report, why furnished Secretary of War a copy 66, 67 

Coal, Greely's name instead of Garlington's inserted in contract 67 

Discrepancies in reports and copies furnished Secretary of War 6.5 

Duty in Signal Office 64, 65 

Errors clerical ones ; due to haste 67 

Garlington's instructions, circumstances under which he would have fur- 
nished copies of all inclosures 66 

intended furnishing all information thought neces- 67 

sary 67 

knew nothing of them until after disaster 65 

papers supposed he should furnish Secretary of 

Navy 66 

papers he understood Secretary of Navy wanted.. 66 

Secretary of War called for them 66 

Secretary of War said nothing relative to omission 

of inclosures 67 

Inclosure 4, informed Secretary of Navy, its making was an error 65 

informed Secretary of Navy, it was not referred to in Garling- 
ton's instructions 65 

office record books erroneously shows Caziarc's mem. so marked. 66 

original mem. not marked 66 

original, was copy of charter-party, not Caziarc's mem 66, 67 

Interview with Secretary of Navy ; what was said 65 

Letter of Secretary of War calling for explanation as to discrepancies in re- 
ports, and copies furnished 65 

Papers, don't know whether copies are compared or not ; why 67 

Signal Office, had no direct charge of papers or correspondence 67, 68 

period in charge 65 

took records as found, presuming them correct 67, 68 

MORIARTY, JOHN, PRIVATE, SIGNAL SERVICE, U. S. A. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Duty in Signal Office ; period 179 

Inclosure 4, date copied, paper of same tenor 180 

don't recollect copying any other paper June 3 ; what did that 

date 180,181 

knoweldge of date copy was made 180 

made no other copies of it 180 

rough notes not seen before 180 

who instructed him to make copy. 180 

Signal Office, roster- shows witness present, at office, June 3, 1883 181 

PIKE, RICHARD, LATE CAPTAIN PROTEUS. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Arctic experience, and character of ice accustomed to encounter 193 

distance north, sailed by witness prior to Greely expedi- 
tion 198 

had come in contact with very heavy ice 199 

ice navigation in Baffin's Bay and Smith's Sound 199 

ice on Labrador coast unlike Arctic ice; more broken up. 199 

Arctic navigation, Newfoundland sealers, best ships for purpose 198 

thinks no person at St. John's had more Arctic experience 

than self 197 

Board of Trade, witness required to have certificate from it 192, 193 

Buffalo coats taken from crew ; don't know whether cached or not 198 

Cape Sabine, height of headland at that point 200 

provisions and clothing cached there, how 196 



INDEX TO PR0CEEDIN|5S. 305 

Page. 

ClOmmand, last commanded Proteus 192 

Diary, left with recorder of court of inquiry 203 

in which witness made entries from day to day, in his possession 203 

Differences, after Mr. Garlington came from Cape Sabine, witness told him 

water seen was " not much " 202 

did not object to go north from Payer Harbor 202 

Garlington did not ask witness' opinion as to propriety of leav- 
ing Payer Harbor 201 

Garlington never interfered with him while passing through Mel- 
ville Bay 203 

his duty, to defer to Mr. Garliugton's wishes 201 

no disagreement between witness and Garlington aboard ship .. 194,200 
no disagreement between witness and Garlington after ship was 

lost 194 

no disagreement with Garlington as to propriety of going north 

from Payer Harbor 201 

officers present when he told Garlington water seen was "no 

good" 202 

only suggestion made was when Garlington wanted him to leave 

Payer Harbor 203 

said nothing on leaving Payer Harbor 201 

told Garlington, in Payer Harbor, it was no use trying to get out. , 201 
told Garlington water seen before entering Payer Harbor was 

"no good" 201,202 

when Garlington requested him to go out of Payer Harbor, tMd 

him he did not approve 202 

why witness objected leaving Payer Harbor 202 

Oarlington expedition, a week's delay at Payer Harbor better for expedition. 201 

conference between Garlington, Colwell, and witness 

before ship went down 194 

danger in getting back to Payer Harbor if open water 

was not found 203 

don't know why Colwell did not go in search of 

Yantic l 209 

don't know why Garlington declined use of boats; 

what Proteus' boats did 195,196 

everything not brought ashore that could have been 

saved 195 

everything saved that could be; more saved than 

brought ashore 195 

Garlington did not ask if ship could safely go into 

ice from Payer Harbor 203 

Garlington never interfered with witness in discharge 

of duties 203 

Garlington not in habit of asking advice about going 

into the ice 203 

Garliugton's remarks prior to leaving Payer Harbor. 203 

history of trip from near Littleton Island until 

stopped by ice 197,198 

ice going south when ship was lost 199 

Lieutenant Colwell's remarks about going in search 

of Yantic 208 

Lieutenant Garlington made ice observation from 

headland at Cape Sabine 200, 201 

made observations of ice before ship went into Payer 

Harbor 200 

officers reported no water seen north of Paver Har- 
bor ." 200 

officers who made ice observations in Crow's Nest ... 200 

Proteus' chance of getting north better if had not 

been so soon 199 

Proteus got out of course in Melville Bay 200 

provisions ; both boat-loads brought to land by mixed 

crews --. 209 

provisions, how some happened to be left on floe 209 

things could have been done after wreck that were 

not, what 195 

thinks Colwell's idea to take a boat and look for the 
Yantic a good one 209 



306 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS 

Page. 
iBarlington expedition, use of Garlington's boats would have brought off an 

additional load or two 196 

was not consulted as to landing stores on way north ; 

gave no advice 200 

when and where told Garlington ship was up too 

soon, 201,202 

Greely's mail, knows nothing of it ; where stored, or what became of it 194 

Ice-foot, none at Littleton Island or Cape Sabine 197 

Interview with Mr. Garliugton in presence of Messrs. Stewart's agent after 

return , 197 

witness' narrative of what he said before Mr. Syme and Lieuten- 
ants Garlington and Colwell 197 

Life-Boat Cove, never was there 195 

Littleton Island and Cape Sabine, time it would occupy to land supplies on 

upward voyage 197 

did not anchor there in 1883 ; did in 1881 197 

how near ship could get to shore 195, 197 

time it would occupy to laud certain quantity of stores at.. 195 

Log of ship not brought ; why 1 20S 

Logs, wrecked party provided with 196, 197 

Nautical education and exjjerience, prior to 1883 192 

Occupation, chiefly employed in sealing during nine years he commanded 

Proteus 192,194 

how long employed by the Stewarts 194 

Pandora Harbor, advised that boats go there and wait for Yantic 196 

after wreck thought best to go there and wait for Yantic . . 196 

hoAv near ship could get to shore 195 

Payer Harbor, left too early to go north ; why thinks so 199 

when Proteus left 200 

Proteus, believes Leiut. Greely was satisfied with her 198 

boats considered staunch and safe 192 

chances of escape from "Nip " better, if Garlington had landed one- 
half provisions 202 

commanded her during Greely expedition to Lady Franklin Bay — 192 

condition and age of boats, time Garlington expedition sailed 192 

condition at time witness sailed with Garlington expedition 192 

considered trip to place of foundering a very quick one 194 

description and number of boats 192 

did not see arms and ammunition stored 193 

distance from Payer Harbor when ship was lost 203 

docked three times since 1881 ; where 192 

drew 18 feet water en teriug Payer Harbor 202 

drew 14 feet water with lightest ballast 202 

equipment good ; usual to refit each year 195 

had to break out stores after Garlington's arrival ; why 193 

lost in endeavor to get back to Payer Harbor 203 

never heard Mr. Greely complain her machinery was too light 198 

no better ship could be chartered 197,198 

partly superintended loading 193 

provisioned for eighteen months 195 

repairs to her machinery and boilers since 1881 192 

ship managed judiciously through ice 194 

ships' company (22) ; provisioned for eighteen months 202 

(stores) boxes and packages not marked ; nothing to show contents. 193 
would have drawn 6 or 7 inches less water if Garlington had landed 

one-half provisions 202 

Proteus' crew, after wreck, each given a buffalo coat ; to be returned when 

boarded Yantic 198 

character of officers and men 193 

considered it a good one 194 

day after wreck, buffalo coats taken from them 198 

did not disobey witness' orders after ship went down 199 

had no occasion to find fault with them — 194 

heard Lieuts. Garlington and Colwell complain of conduct ; 

when 198 

knows of no defiance of officers 194 

knows of no flagrant act of disobedience 194 

Lieuts. Garlington and Colwell charged them with stealing 

clothes 198 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 307 

Page. 

Proteus' crew, made trip -witli tliem, prior to sailing with Mr. Garlington . .. 193 

officers witli boats good enough 198 

no disposition to be mutinous shown : exhibited none on way 

down 200 

not intention to abandon them after wreck, 209 

season unfavorable for getting picked crew ; description of 

crew hired 193 

were not " beachcombers " or "longshoremen " 209 

were sealers ; number known to witness and who served with 

him before 196 

witness had no difficulty ; obeyed orders right through 200 

Residence and occupation . . , 192 

Sealing, general range of trips 194 

in trips did not go on coast of Greenland 194 

Smith's Sound, date witness passed down in 1881 199 

Wages of crew ceases when ship is lost 193 

Yantic, believed would reach Littleton Island 196 

why witness was satished ship would get to Littleton Island 200 

POWELL, JAMES W., JR., CAPTAIN SIXTH INEANTRY. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Arctic exploration, no connection with subject prior to May, '83 145 

Duty, in Signal Office ; duration 144, 145 

Garlington expedition, did not discuss details with C.S. O 148 

knowledge, &c., while in charge 145 

Garlington's instructions, date received : from whom 151, 154 

did not know; were furnished prior to June 4 152 

did not think Garlington disobeyed them 150 

either gave, or called attention of C. S. O. to them 

on his desk 149 

Garlington responsible for proper provisioning of 

expedition 152 

no conversation with C. S. O., further than to call 

his attention to them ISC' 

not with him when went to see Secretary of Navy. 151 
presented General Hazen on his return ; papers de- 
scribed 149^ 

rough notes referred for advice, &c 145 

when and by whom prepared 145 

Hazen's telegrams, recollections as to tenor 151 

Inclosure 4, cannot fix date shown him i47 

cannot particularly identify rough draft 147 

cannot repeat exact instructions, to Caziarc, to prepare it 14S 

considered them Caziarc's views, not Hazen's 154 

conversation testified to (Caziarc, ans. 2, p. 41) not remembered. 148 
conversation with Caziarc iu regard to it possible ; does not re- 
call it 149 

conversation with Secretary of Navy reported to C. S. O. on his 

return 146 

copy not furnished by witness to any one 146 

date Caziarc showed him mem 152 

date first shown by Caziarc 146, 147 

date instructed Caziarc to prepare mem 152 

did not care to see mem.; why 152 

did not know it had been given Garlington 150 

did not know two copies had been made 150 

discussion heard as to landing stores at Littleton Island 148 

does not remember Caziarc giving it, or its coming Into his hands 149 

don't think had it in his possession 147 

don't think turned it over to C. S. O 147 

don't think it was with instructions presented C. S. O.; why 149, 154 

had no discussion with Caziarc; would not approve mem.; why 149 

knew it contained ideas not found in Garlington's instructions.. 148 

knowledge that a copy had been furnished Secretary of Navy — 149 

might have been with papers presented to C. S. O.; thinks not. 154 

never saw any copy ; only rough notes - 150 



308 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Page, 

3nclosure 4, no conversation with Caziarc in regard to it after return of C. S. O. 151 

no conversation with Garliugton in regard to it prior to sailing. 141 

no recollection of having copy in his possession 146 

no recollection of speaking to C. S. O. in regard to it 146 

shown after interview with Secretary of Navy . 146 

shown by Caziarc ; may have had it in his hand 149 

thinks it was not on desk of C. S. O. when presented instruc- 
tions ; why 150 

took no action when shown by Caziarc ; why 146 

recalls no such conversation with Caziarc as testified by him 154 

requested Caziarc to frame draft for co-operation of vessels 146 

rough notes shown before Hazen's return 151 

rough notes shown, not copy 155 

views with regard to 152, 153 

what expected of Caziarc in its compilation 148, 149 

when shown, iu no shajie to go on office books 154 

why not satisfied with mem 153 

witness' recollections of it 145, 146, 147 

Interview with Secretary of Navy ; date 150, 151 

with Secretary of Navy and Commodore Walker 150 

with Secretary of Navy, after receiving Hazen's telegrams 151, 152 

Signal Office, period in charge 145 

present at, June 3, 1883 151 

Yantic, conversation with Secretary of Navy relating to 145, 146 

why telegraphed C. S. 0., distance north ship was expected to go 146, 147 

WALKER, JOHN G., COMMODORE U. S. NAVY. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Duty, Chief Bureau of Navigation 102 

Inclosure 4, recollections with regard to 129, 130 

Wildes' instructions, prepared by witness 130 

yantic, accomplished as much as was expected 104 

a point to fall back, in case of disaster 104 

assistance rendered 104 

complement officers and men ; war and peace footing 129 

C. S. O., no doubt, expected she would get to Littleton Island 104 

dangers ; necessary delays in going up 105 

had boats usually furnished war vessels 130 

least number of men that could handle her <. 129 

negotiations which led to sending 103 

no addition made to crew when detailed for expedition 129 

no request that should be used as depot . 103 

not to furnish provisions for Greely party 103 

object in sending her to Littleton Island 130 

preparations ; by whom determined 129 

probabilities of her reaching Littleton Island 103, 104 

reasons for her selection 104 

understanding of object of C. S. O. in asking for 103 

Yantic's instructions, contingent on condition ice in Melville Bay 103 

intended to meet views of War Department 103 

to accompany Proteus ; construction 104 

to go to Littleton Island — not to enter ice-pack, ex- 
plained 103 

Yantic-Proteus agreement, advisability of fixing upon certain places of meet- 
ing 105 

never read it 105 

having read it, thinks it proper 106 

WILDES, FRANK, COMMANDER, U. S. N. 

(Sworn; testimony.) 

Arctic navigation, first experience in Polar seas 84 

Capacity in which witness appears 78 

Oarhngtou did not go to Upernavik 86 



INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS, 309 



Garlington expedition, causes which conduced to failure 84, 86 

conferences with Garlington 79 

party picked up September 2; sailed for St. John's 

same date 92 

should start with Proteus from Upernavik; could not. 85 

understood its object 85 

Garlington's instructions, and Greely's mem. had been furnished 79, 88 

Garlington party, justified in leaving Littleton Island without waiting Yantic . 88, 89 

not sailors ; knew nothing of boats 83, 84 

Ice-pack, constantly met in Melville Bay 80 

definition of term - 80 

when justified in entering a lead 81 

Inclosure 4, copy not with instructions 88 

knows what it is 88 

Inquiry, if persons outside court are permitted to question him 90 

questions must be submitted to court, and be approved before put 90 

Instructions, observations between St. John's and Upernavik 85 

scientific observations to be made 89 

(verbal), none given 89 

Littleton Island, chances of Yantic reaching 80 

may have informed Garlington as to his doubts of getting to. 86 

views as to reaching 85, 86 

Melville Bay, choice passages across 80 

description; vessels caught in the ice there 80,81 

Nautical experience, does not refer to Garlington; answers to question 2, 

page84 89 

whether included General Hazen among the non-expe- 
rienced 91, 92 

whom he referred to in answer to question 2, page 84 . . 89 

Oath, consents to take the oath 79 

Pike (Captain), ice knowledge, seamanship, &c 87 

knowledge of scientific instruments 83 

navigation ; incidents 83 

not a good navigator 83, 86 

Proteus, boats poor ; not suitable to carry north 83 

comparison in strength and build with other sealers 90 

did not urge Garlington to delay at Disko 86 

seaworthiness 83 

where first learned loss 80 

why left Disko before Yantic 86 

Proteus' crew, had eleven days to observe them 92 

knowledge of conduct derived from letter of Lieutenant Col- 
well 91 

poor lot to look at 83 

why considered them beachcombers and longshoremen 91 

Provisions, scarcity mentioned referred to Yantic 90 

Sealers, did not see them ; arrived too late at St. John's 90 

usual date of leaving St. John's ; number of trips 92 

why not found at St. John's in summer of 1883 92, 93 

Sealing voyages, geographical limits 90 

Wildes' instructions, did not furnish a copy to Garlington 88 

don't know if Garlington was furnished with copy 88 

don't remember he informed Garlington what they were. 88 

Garlington could have seen them for the asking 88 

no duty that would interfere with them 89 

not to go north of Littleton Island 80 

not to place Yantic in position to prevent return in 1883 . 80 

submitted and identified 79 

until read, didn't know ship would go north of Uper- 
navik 89,90 

when received 89 

Yantic not to enter ice-pack 80 

Wildes' report, embraces correct history of expedition 79 

Yantic, boilers bad on reaching Upernavik 85 

brought back fair quantity of provisions 88 

cause of delay at Upernavik 83 

coaling at various points 85 

cruising in West Indies prior to expedition 89 

dangers working through ice-pack 87 



310 INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS. 

Page. 

Yantic, declines to state views as regards landing stores at Littleton Island.. 81 

delay at Upernavik did not prejudice object of expedition 82 

equipment of ship and crew 82 

had all coal could carry leaving St. John's 85 

in command during summer of 1883 79 

influences presence in Arctic waters had over Pike party 89, 91 

instructions authorized contribution of provisions and stores 81 

landing stores for Greely party, on loss of Proteus 81 

minimum complement of men necessary to work her 87, 88 

not an ice-boat ; if caught could not get back through ice 87 

object in visiting Upernavik 83, 90 

preparations for cruise 87 

re-coaled at Upernavik 85 

trip from Upernavik to Littleton Island 87 

unfit to winter in Arctic region 82 

use and effect in expedition 89 

why stores were not lauded at Littleton Island on loss of Proteus. .. 81, 82 

wisdom of arranging more places of rendezvous 88 

Proteus- Yantic agreement, did not desire a more minute one 80 

don't remember if Garlington desired more minute 

one 80 

no diversity of opinion in conferences with Gar- 
lington 88 

no request made in conferences with Garlington 

to contribute stores 81 

on basis of conferences had with Garlington 79 

published in Signal Service notes, 10 80 



APPENDIX. 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, November 9, 1883. 
Sir : I have the honor to send herewith, with list of inclosnres attached, the princi- 
pal correspondence relating to the Lady Franklin Bay expedition of 1881. 
Very respectfully, yonr obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brigadier and Brevet Major-General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

M»j. Henry Goodfellow, 

Judge-Advocate, Washington, D. C. 

(0.) 



Letters sent. 


No. 




Letters received. 


Book. 


Vol. 


Page. 


Address. j 


Book. 


Tear. 


Who from. 


C. S. 0. 


5 


387 


Secretary of War 


3573 


Mis. 


1881 


A. W. Greely. 


Do. 


5 


387 


Secretary of War. 


3571 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


11 


26,27 


Adjutant-General. 


3456 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


11 


68,69 


Secretary of War. 


3659 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


11 


103, 104 


James Beetle. 


3402 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


7 


341 


Lieutenant Greely. 


3553 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


7 


253 


Secretary of War! 


3580 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Mis. 


15 


466 


Lieutenant Greely. 


2269 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


C. S. 0. 


11 


101-103 


Browninfj Bros. 


3653 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


0. 


11 


100, 101 


J. de H. Lindeucione. 


3577 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


11 


98-100 


F. ^\ Molloy. 


3629 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


11 


95 


Sur geo n- Gen er al. 


3220 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


6 


399 


Adjutant-General. 


3479 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Mis. 


15 


441 


Lieutenant Greely. ; 


3572 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


C. S. 0. 


10 


437 


Secretary of War! 


3217 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


6 


440 


Do. 1 


3579 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 


Do. 


7 


441 


Lieutenant Greely. i 


3012 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 










3523 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 










3241 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 








1 


3764 


Mis. 


1881 


Do. 



Orders.— G. 0. No. 35, April 12, A. G. O. ; G. O. No. 34, May 11, A. G. 0. ; G. O.No. 97, June 17, 0. 
C. S. O. 
Instructions.— No. 72, June 17, O. C. S. O. 
Memorandums. — General Order No. 34, A. G. O., 1881 ; Special Orders, A. G. O., 1881. 



(1.) 
[Vol. 5, C.S.O., page 387.1 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington, I). C, March, 16, 1881. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

(Through the Adjutant-General of the Army.) 
Sir : I have the honor to request that the papers prepared hy Lieut. Greely, sketch- 
ing a plan for the proposed expedition to establish an international polar station at 
Lady Franklin Bay, forwarded from this oflfice on the 8th instant, be returned, as they 
are indispensable here. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

' ^ i" J'' ^ ^V. B. HAZEN, 

Brigadier and Brevet Major-General, Chief Signal Officer; U. S, Army. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 1 



APPENDIX. 



(2.) 



[Vol. 5,0. S.O., page 387.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Wabhington, D. C, March 16, 1881. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

(Through the Adjutant-Geueral of the Army.) 
Sir : I have the honor to state it is very, very important, in connection with the 
success of the expedition to establish an international polar station at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay, that orders in the case of Lieut. Fred'k F. Kisliugbury, 11th Infantry, be is- 
sued without delay, on account of the remoteness of his present station and in order 
that he may report here at once. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brigadier and Brevet Major- General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(3.) 
memorandum. 

[General Orders No. 34.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutant-General's Office. 

April 5, 1881. 
Publishes an act makiug appropriation for observation and exploration in the 
Arctic seas. 



(4.) 

The following special orders from the Adjutant-General's Office refer to the expedi- 
tion of 1881 : 



Order. 


Par. 


57 


2 


338 


4 


81 


13 


96 


4 


113 


1 


130 


3 


132 


] 


117 


4 


120 


2 


124 


4 


228 


2 


116 


2 


120 


3 


120 


12 


129 


1 


135 


7 



Subject 



Lieut. Greely assigned to command of. 

To proceed to St. John's to take charge of. 
Lockwood assigned to duty with. 

Orders detailing Lieut. Lockwood for duty with, revoked, 
Lieut. Lockwood detailed for duty with. 

To proceed to St. John's on duty connected with. 

To proceed to Baltimore on duty connected with. 
KislingDury to report for duty with. 

To proceed to St. John's on duty connected with. 
Sergt. Kice to proceed to St. John's on duty connected with. 
Corpl. Starr, having returned from, to join his troop. 
Private (Jarroll relieved from duty with. 
Connell to proceed to St. John's for duty with. 
Ryan to proceed to St. John's for duty with. 

Certain enlisted men to proceed to Annapolis, Md., on duty connected with.. 
Enlisted men to proceed to St. John's for duty with. 



(5.) 

[General Orders No. 35.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutajstt-General's Office, 

Washington, April 12, 1881. 
The following order, received from the War Department, is published for the infor- 
mation of the Army : 

In order to carry into execution the act approved May 1, 1880, and so much of the 
act approved March 3, 1881, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil 
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and for other pur- 



APPENDIX. 6 

poses," as provides for " observation and exploration in the Arctic Seas ; for continu- 
ing the work of scientific observation and exploration on or near the shores of Lady 
Franklin Bay, and for transportation of men and supplies to said location and return, 
twenty-five thousand dollars," it is ordered : 

1. Ist Lieutenant A. W. Greely, 5th U. S. Cavalry, a,ctiug signal officer, having vol- 
unteered for the expedition, shall take command of the expeditionary force, now or- 
ganizing under said act, to establish a station north of the 81st degree of north lati- 
tude, at or near Lady Franklin Bay, for the purpose of scientific observation. 

2. Lieutenant Greely shall have authority to contract for and purchase within the 
limits of the appropriation the supplies and transportation deemed needful for the 
expedition ; and the appropriation for this purpose made by the act approved March. 
3, 1881, shall be drawn from the Treasury and disbursed, upon proper vouchers, by 
the regular disbursing officer of the Signal Service, under the direction of the Chief 
Signal Officer. 

3. The force to be employed in the expedition shall consist of two other officers, who 
may volunteer their services ; twenty-one enlisted men, who may volunteer from the 
Army or be specially enlisted for the purpose, and one contract surgeon. The latter 
to be contracted with at such time as he may be able to join the party. 

4. The commander of the expedition is authorized to hire a steam sealer or whaler, 
to transport the party from St. John's to Lady Franklin Bay, for a fixed sum per month, 
under a formal contract that shall release the United States from any and all respon- 
sibility or claim for damages in case the steamer is injured, lost, or destroyed. The 
said contract shall include the services and subsistence of the crew of the vessel, and 
shall require that the said crew shall consist of one captain, two mates, one steward, 
two engineers, two firemen, and seven seamen — not less than fifteen in all. Such 
steam sealer or whaler shall not be hired until it has been inspected by an officer, to 
be detailed by the Secretary of the Navy for that purpose, and found by him fit for 
the intended service. 

5. The expeditionary force shall be assembled at Washington, District of Columbia, 
not later than May 15, and at St. John's^not later than June 15, 1881. 

6. During their absence on this duty Lieutenant Greely and the other officers of the 
Army accompanying the expedition will retain station at Washington, District of 
Columbia. The enlisted men who may volunteer or be specially enlisted for this duty 
shall receive the pay and commutation allowances (except commutation for quarters 
and fuel) that accrue to men detached for duty in Washington, District of Columbia. 

7. The several bureaus of the War Department will furnish, on requisitions approved 
by the Secretary of War, the necessary subsistence, clothing, camp and garrison equi- 
page, transportation to St. John's, Newfoundland, and return, medicines, books, in- 
struments, hospital stores, arms, and ammunition. The subsistence stores to be fur- 
nished as above directed are for sale, not for issue, to the officers and men of the ex- 
peditionary force. 

By command of General Sherman : 

R. C. DRUM, 

Adjutant- Greneral. 



(6.) 
[General Orders No. 34.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutajstt-Generax's Office, 

Washington, May 11, 1880. 
The following acts and joint resolutions of Congress are published for the informa- 
tion and government of all concerned : 

I. AN ACT to atitliorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic Seas. 

Be it enacted hj the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
m Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, 
authorized to establish a temporary station at some point north of the eighty-first 
degree of north latitude, on or near the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, for purposes 
of scientific observation and exploration, and to develop or discover new whaling- 
grounds ; to detail such officers or other persons of the public service to take part in 
the same as may be necessary, and who are willing to enlist for such purpose, not ex- 
ceeding fifty in number, and to use any public vessel or vessels that may be suitable 
for the purpose of transporting the members of said station and their necessary sup- 
plies, and for such other duty in connection with said station as may be required from 
time to time : Provided, That tbe President of the United States is authorized to ac- 
cept from H. W. Howgate, and fit out for the purposes of this expedition, the steam- 



4 APPENDIX. 

ship Gulnaiv, wliicli vesbel shall bf letiuued to its owner when the objects of the 
expedition shall have beeu ticcoiiiplished, or when, in the opinion of the President, 
its sei'viees are no longer required: Provided further, Tbatthe United States shall not 
be liable to any elaim for com})ensation in case of loss, damage, or deterioration of 
said vessel from any cause, or in any manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand 
for the use or risk of said vessel. 
A})proved May 1, 1880. 

II. JOINT EESOLUTION authorizing tbe Secretary of War to furnisli two hospital tents to the 

Soldiers' Orphans' Home of the State of Illinois. 

Hesolred by the Senate and House of Ilepreseniatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and is hereby, authorized to loan 
two hospital tents to the Soldiers' Orphans' Home of the State of Illinois for a period 
of six months from June first, eighteen hundred and eighty. 

Approved May 1, 18^0. 

III. AN ACT to place William Gaines, late ordnance sergeant, United States Army, on the retired list. 

Be it enacted hij the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to place William Gaines, late ordnance sergeant United States Army, on 
the retired list of the Army, with seventy-five per centum of the full pay and allow- 
ances of an ordnance sergeant for and during his natural life, he having served faith- 
fully and honorably in the Army of the United States for more than fifty-one years, 
having been an ordnance sergeant for over thirty-three consecutive years of said 
service, and having participated in the siege of Foi-t Meigs, the defense of Fort 
Stephenson, and the battle of the Thames in the war of eighteen hundred and twelve. 

Approved May :^, 1880. 

IV. JOINT RESOLUTION aiithoiizing the Secretaiy of War to send rations to the sufferers from 

the recent cyclone at Macon, Mississippi. 

Ik-soIved bfj the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and empowered 
to send four thousand rations to Macon, Mississippi, for the use of the sufferers made 
destitute by the cyclone of April twenty-fifth. 

Approved May 4, 1880. 

By command of General Sherman : 

E. D. TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant-General. 



(7.) 
[Vol. 6, C. S. O., page 399.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, May 2'dd, 1881. 
To the Adjutant-General, 

War Department : 
Sir : I have the honor to invite your attention to communication of Lieutenant 
Greely of the 28th ult., transmitted from this office by endorsement of same date, 
relative to transportation of certain supplies from Boston, Baltimore, and Washington 
to St. John's, Newfoundland. 

As this office has not been informed of any action taken in the matter, and as the 
time for the shijiment to be made is rapidly approaching, it is recommended that the 
instructions requested by Lieutenant Greely be given. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 

(S.) 
[Vol. 6, C. S. 0., page 440.1 



To the honorable the Secrktary of War ; 



War Depautmknt, 
Office Chief Signal Officer. 
Washhujtov, D. C, May>5th. 1881. 



Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by reference from your Depart- 
ment, of a communication from the Hon. Secretary of State, dated the 18tli iiist., en- 
closing dnplicate copies of the chart ajid list indicating the position of the several de- 
pots of provisions left by the Arctic expedition under Sir George Nares in 1875. 

These documents will no donbt prove of great value to the expedition soon to sail, 
under command of Lieutenant Greely, for Lady Franklin Bay, and I recommend that 
,the thanks of the Department be tendered the British admiralty, through tlir State 
Department, for the cmirtesy of placing this information at our service. 
I am, verv respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. 4- Bvf. MaJ. GenU, Chief Skpial Officer, U. 8. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



Chief Signal Officer. 



(9.) 
[Vol. 15, Mis., p. 447.] 

War Dki'artment, 
Office Chief Signal Of'ficer. 
fF ashing ton, D. C, .Tune \Oth, 1881. 
let Lieut. A. W. Grep^ly, 

bth Cav'l'y, A. S. O., Com'd'g Expi'd'H to the Arctic sean, 0. C.S. O: 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit, by direction of the Chief Signal Officer, a copy of 
" instructions for the expedition toward the North Pole, from Hon. Geo. M. Robe,son," 
and a copy of " suggestions relative to objects ot scientific investigation in Russian 
America," supplementary to the instructions vrhich will be publisshed in a few days, 
when not in conflict therewith. 

Especial attention is invited to py>. 10 to 14 of the instructions of tlie Navy Depart- 
ment to Capt. Hall, which should be carefully observed so far as practicable. 
I am, very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARE, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery^ A. S. 0. 

Note. — The enclosures to this connnunication were, 1st, Robeson's instructions to 
Capt. Hall, including papers by member of the National Academy of Sciences, 
republished on pp. 361-387 of Smithsonian Report for 1881, and, *2nd, Smithsonian 
Publications No. 207, published in 18C7 in Vol. VIII of the Mis. Contributions. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Office)'. 



(10.) 
[Special Ordens No. 97,] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, lunc 17, 1881. 

I. By direction of the Secretary of War, the following-named officers and enlisted 
men are assigned to duty as the expeditionary force to Lady Franklin Bay : 

First Lieutenant A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting, signal officer and assistant. 
Second Lieutenant Frederick ¥. Kislingbury, llth Infantry, a<'ting signal officer. 
Second Lieutenant James B. Lockwood. 23rd Infantry, acting signal otiicer. 
Sergeant Edward Israel, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. 
Sergeant Winfield S. Jewell, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. 



6 APPENDIX. 

Sergeant George W. Eice, Sigual Corps, U. S. Army. 

Sergeant David C. Ralston, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. 

Sergeant Hampden S. Gardiner, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. 

Sergeant William H. Cross, General Service, U. S. Army. 

Sergeant David L. Braiuard, Co. L, 2ud Cavalry. 

Sergeant David Linn, Co. C, 2nd Cavalry. 

Corporal Daniel C. Starr, Co. F, 2nd Cavab\v. 

Corporal Paul Grimm, Co. H, llth Infantry. 

Corporal Nicholas Salor, Co. H, 2nd Cavalry. 

Corporal Joseph Elisou, Co. E, 10th Infantry. 

Private Charles B. Henry, Co. E, 5th Cavalry. 

Private Maurice Couuell, Co. B, 3rd Cavalrf. 

Private Jacob Bender, Co. F, 9th Infantry. 

Private Francis Long, Co. F, 9th Infantry. 

Private William Wbisler, Co. F, 9th Infantry. 

Private Henry Bierderbick, Co. G, 17th Infantry. 

Private Julius Fredericks, Co. L, 2nd Cavalry. 

Private James Ryan, Co. H, 2nd Cavalry. 

Private William A. Ellis, Co. C, 2nd Cavalry. 

II. In accordance with special iuHtrucfions from the Secretary of War, Lieutenant 
Greely will contract at Disco, Greenland, with Octave Pavy, M. D., who will there- 
after remain on duty as acting assistant surgeon, U. S. Army, with the expeditionary- 
forces. 

HI. First Lieutenant A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting signal officer and assistant 
to the Chief Signal Officer, is hereby assigned to the command of the expedition, and 
is charged with the execution of the orders and instructions given below. He will 
forward all reports and observations to the Chief Signal Officer, who is charged with 
the control and supervision of the expedition. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. 4- Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Sif/nal Officer, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Offict 
Nov. 9, ItiSo. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



rtnstrvictious Xo. 72.1 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, June 17, 1881. 

The following general instructions will govern in the establishment and manage- 
ment of the expedition organized under Special Orders No. 97, War Department, 
office of the Chief Signal Officer, Washington, 1). C, dated June 17, 1881. 

The permanent sta.twi^ w^ill be established at the most suitable point north of the 
eighty-tirst x>arallel and contiguous to the coal seam discovered near Lady Franklin 
Bay l)y the English expedition of 1875. 

After leaving St. John's. Newfoundland, except to obtain Esquimaux hunters, dogs, 
clothing, &c., at Disco or Upernavik, only such stops will be made as the condition 
of the ice necessitates, or as are essential in order to determine the exact location and 
condition of the stores cached on the east coast of Grinnell Laud by the English ex- 
pedition of 1875. During any enforced delays along that coast it would be well to sup- 
plement the English depots by such small caches from the steamer's stores of provisions 
as would be valuable to a party retreating southward by boats from Robeson's Chan- 
nel. At each point where an (dd depot is exHUiined or a new one established three 
brief notices will )te left oC the visit: one to be deposited in the cairn built or found 
standing, one to be jdaced on the north side of it, and one to be buried twenty feet 
north (magnetic) of the caii'n. Notices discovered in cairns will be brought away, re- 
placing them, how•'^•er, by copies. 

The steamer should, on arrival at permanent station, discharge her cargo with the 
utmost disi)atch, and be ordered to return to St. John's, N. F., after a careful exami- 
nation of the seam of coal at that pt)int has been made by the party to determine 
whether an ample sn))))ly is easily procurable. A rej)oit in writing on this subject 
will be sent by the leturuing vessel. Jn case of doubt an ample supply must be re- 
tained fiom the steamer's stores. 

By the returning steamer will be sent a biief report of proceedings and as full a 
transcript as possible of all lueteorologicul and other observations made during the 
voyage. 



APPENDIX 7 

After the departure of the vessel the energies of the party should first be devoted 
to the erection of the dwelling-house and observatories, after which a sledge party 
will be sent, according to the proposal made to the Navy Department, to the high, 
land near Cape Joseph Henry. 

The sledging parties will generally work in the interests of exploration and dis- 
covery. The work to be done by them should be marked by all possible care and 
fidelity. The outlines of coasts entered on charts will be such only as have actually 
been seen by the party. Every favorable opportunity will be improved by the sledg- 
ing parties to determine accurately the geographical positions of all their camps, and 
to obtain the bearing thei'efrom of all distant cliffs, mountains, islands, &c. 

Careful attention will be given to the collection of specimens of the animal, min- 
eral, and vegetable kingdoms. Such collections will be made as complete as possible ; 
will be considered the property of the Government of the United States, and are to 
be at its disposal. 

Special instructions regarding the meteorological, magnetic, tidal, pendulum, and 
other observations, as recommended by the Hamburg International Polar Conference, 
are transmitted herewith. 

It is contemplated that the permanent station shall be visited in 1882 and 1883 by 
a steam sealer or other vessel, by which supplies for aud such additions to the pres- 
ent party as are deemed needful will be sent. 

In case such vessel is unable to reach Lady Frankliu Bay in 1882 she will cache a 
portion of her supplies and all of her letters and dispatches at the most northerly point 
she attains on the eas/ coast of Grinnell Land., and establish a small depot of supplies at 
Littleton Island. Noticesof the locality of such depots will be left atone or all of the 
following places, viz. Cape Hawks, Cape Sabine, and Cape Isabella. 

In case no vessel reaches tXm, permanent station in 1882 t vessel sent in 1883 will 
remain in Smith's Sound until there is danger of its closing by ice, and, on leaving, 
will land all her supplies and a party at Littletou Island, which j^arty will be pre- 
pared for a winter's stay, and will be instructed to send sledge parties up the east 
side of (Trinnell Land to meet this party. If not visited in 1882 Lieutenant Greely will 
abandon his station not later than September 1, 1883, and will retreat southward by 
boat, following closely the east coast of Grinnell Land, until the relieving vessel is met 
or Littletou Island is reached. 

A special copy of all reports will be made each day, which will be sent home each 
year by the returning vessel. 

The full narrative of the several branches will be prepared with accuracy, leaving 
the least possible amount of work afterwards to prepare them for publication. 

The greatest caution will be taken at the station against fire, and daily inspections 
made of every spot where fire can communicate. 

In case of any fatal accident or permanent disability happening to Lieutenant 
Greely the command will devolve on the officer next in seniority, who will be gov- 
erned by these instructions. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. # Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

Instructions for the commanding officers of the international polar stations occupied by the 

Signal Service. 

I. — GENERAL. 

1. Regular meteorological and other observations will be maintained uninter- 
ruptedly, both at sea aud at the permanent station, in accordance with instructions 
issued to Signal Service observers and those contained in the accompanying extract 
from the proceedings of the Hamburg conference, to which special notes are appended 
where needed, 

2. The original record of these observations will be kept in the blauk books sup- 
plied for this purpose, and a fair copy of the corrected and reduced results will be 
made upon Signal Service and special forms, as supplied in bound volnraes. 

3. At sea a daily record will be kept, by dead reckoning and astronomical obser- 
vations, of the latitude and longitude of the vessel, by which the positions at the 
times of meteorological observations will be deduced, and on arriving at the perina- 
nent station the local time and longitude will be immediately determined, whence the 
Washington and GJittingen times will be found by applying the correction for longi- 
tude. 



b APPENDIX. 

4. All lueteorological anil tidal observations will be made at exact hours of Wash- 
ington civil time (the longitude of AVashington Obpcrvatory is 5*^ 8™ 12^.09 west of 
Greenwich). The regular maguetic observations will be made at even hours and 
minutes of Gottingen mean time (Gottiugeu is 0'^ 39'" 46^24 east of Greenwich, or 
511 47m 588.33 east of Washington ; whence, 12 noon, Washington time, is simul- 
taneous with 5'' 47™ 58^33 p. m. Gottingen time, or 6^ 12™ 1^.67 a. m. Washington 
time is simultaneous with 12 noon at Gottingen). 

If hourly meteorological observations of all these jihenomena cannot be taken, then, 
if possible, take bi-hourly observations at the hours 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 a. m. and p. m., 
or at least six observations, at 3, 7, and 11 a. rn. and p. m. On no account will the 
meteorological observation at 7 a. in., Washington tinie, be omitted. 

5. Upon arrival at the permanent station the local time and longitude will be de- 
termined at once, without waiting for the erection of permanent shelters, which will 
be built for the meteorological, magnetic, and astronomical instruments according to 
the plans and material as specified. 

The meteorological and astronomical observatories will be located conveniently near 
to the dwelling of the observers, but that of the magnetic observatory will be de- 
termined by the consideration that these instruments must be removed from all dan- 
ger of being affected by the presence of steel or iron, including galvanized and tinned 
iron. If needed to keep off intruders, a guard or fence shouLl surround the magnetic 
observatory. 

6. The observation of tides will be made as comjilete as possible in summer by a 
gauge on the shore, and in winter through an opening in the ice, according to the in- 
structions furnished by the Sujierintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic 
Survey. The necessity for observing the tides will suggest that the dwelling-house 
should be located as near. the sea as is safe and convenient. 

7. In addition to the ship's log and the official journal of the party, to be kept by 
the commanding officer, and the official record of observations, to be kept by the me- 
teorological, magnetic, tidal, and astronomical observers, each member of the party 
will be furnisherl with a diary, in which he will record all such incidents as specially 
interest him. This diary will not be open to inspection until delivered to the Chief 
Signal Officer for his sole use in compiling the full record of the Expedition. 

8. Accurate representations, either by the photographic process or sketching, will 
be made of all phenomena of an unusual character, or of whatever is characteristic 
of the country. 

9. Carefully prepared topographical maps will be made of as much of the surround- 
ing country as is practicable. 

II. — DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING OBSERVATIONS, INSTRUMENTS, AND TIME, 
BY THE INTERNATIONAL POLAR CONFERENCE, HAMBURG, 1879, OCT. IST TO 5TH. 

[Translated at the office of the Chief Signal Officer, with added note in brackets.] 

^ 1. OBLIGATORY OBSERVATIONS IN THE DOMAIN OF METEOROLOGY. 

No. 17. Temj)eiatur€ of tlie air. — The mercurial thermometers should be graduated 
io two-tenths degrees Centigrade, and the alcohol thermometers to whole degrees, and 
both verified at a central meteorological station to within one-tenth degree Centi- 
grade. 

[The thermometers furnished are graduated to Fahrenheit ; they have been compared 
with the Signal Service standard, and are provided with correction cards.] 

No. 18. The instruments should be placed at an altitude of between 1.5 and 2.0 
meters (5 to 6 feet), and it is recommended that they be exposed in a double shelter of 
lattice work, according to Wild's method. The outer shelter to be of wood, the inner 
of metal. The observations of miuinuim thermometers can be made u-nder various 
conditions. 

[The shelters furnished cousist of an outer wooden louvre work and an inner galvan- 
ized iron shelter, both framed so as to be easily set up. The minimum temperatures 
at various altitudes above ground will be observed, and under such various couditions 
as circumstances suggest.] 

No. 19. The alcohol thermometers ought to be compared at the station of observa- 
tion with the standard mercurial thermometer at the lowest possible temperatures.* 

No. 20. Sea temperatures should be observed, whenever possible, at the surface and 
at each 10 meteis (about 33 feet) of depth ; as instruments, proper for this observa- 
tion, the following may be specified : deep-sea-thermometers, as jiianufactured or in- 
vented by Ekmann ; Negretti «fe Zambra ; Miller ; Casella ; jansen. 

* For notes on special thermometers, prepared for the Signal Service Stations, see Section III of these 
ins tractions. 



APPENDIX. 9 

[While at sea the temperature of the surface-water will be observed hourly, with the 
Signal Service water thermometer, by the ordinary methods, and the temperature at 
each 33 feet of depth, whenever practicable ; for greater depths, one of the above deep- 
sea iustruraents will be used.] 

No. 21. The point 0'^ ceutrigrade [32° Fahrenheit], for all the thermometers, should 
be determined from time to time. 

[The testing of thermometers will be made quarterly, according to the usual Signal 
Service rules. ] 

No. 22. Pressure of the air. — At each station there must be at least two well-com- 
pared mercurial barometers, a reserve barometer, and an aneroid. 

No. 23. The standard barometer ought to be compared or read once each day. 

[Several mercurial and aneroid barometers are furnished, and all regular observa- 
tions will be made from a mercurial barometer, selected from among them, which will 
be compared, once each day, with the standard barometer. All barometers will be 
fully compared with tlie standard once each month ; such comparative readings will 
be entered oa the regular Signal Service forms for this puipose. ] 

No. 24. Humidiffi. — The psycbronieters (i. e. dry and wet bulb) and hair hygrometer 
will be used with Regnault's dew-point apparatus as a check, according to Wild's in- 
structions. 

[Comparative readings, with these instruments, will be frequently made and care- 
fully preserved for future study.] 

No. 25. The Wivd. — The wind-vane and Robinson's anemometerare to be read from 
within the house (see the method of construction of the apparatus of the Swedish 
station at Spitzbergen) at the same time ; the force of the wind will be estimated ac- 
cording to the Beauford scale, and the wind-direction to 16 compass points referred to- 
the true meridian. 

[The points of the compass on the wind-dial will be adjusted to the true meridian as 
is ordered for all Signal Service stations; self-registering instruments of the Signal 
Service pattern for the velocity and direction of the wind to eight poii-ts will be used. 
A record of wind-force <m the Beauford scale (0 to V-i), and wind-direction to 16 points 
will also be kept and will be entered in the special column.] 

No. 26. To aid in deciding the question whether the Robinson's anemometer, with 
large or with small cups, should be used for determining the force of storms iu th& 
Polar zone, it is recommended that both such be subjected to preliminary experi- 
ments. 

[Anemometers of the Signal Service pattern, having small cups and short arms, are 
the only ones that it is convenient to furnish. For comparative purposes keep two 
of these in permanent daily use, exposiug them in different but good localities. The 
extra anemometers should be compared with these during 24 hours on the first Mon- 
day of each month, and a full record be kept of such comxiarisons. ] 

No. 27, The Clouds. — The amount of cloudiness and the direction of the movement 
of all clouds should be observed to 16 compass points. 

[In addition, the kinds of clouds will be noted, and the record kept in the usual 
Signal Service form.] 

No. 28. Precipifatioii. — The conimencement and duration of rain, snow, hail, &c., 
and, when possible, the amount of precipitation is to be observed. As to the amount,, 
however, this is not obligatory in winter. 

[There will be recorded regularly, and if practicable hourly, the amount of precipi- 
tation, measured if possible; otherwise estimated. ] 

No. 29. The TVeather. — Storms, thunder-storms, hail, fog, frost, dew, &c., and the 
optical phenomena of the atmosphere ought to be recorded. 

2. OBLIGATORY OBSERVATIONS IN THE DOiMAIN OP TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM.* 

No. 30. Absolute Determinaiiovs. — For declination and inclination it is necessary to 
attain an accuracy of 1.0 minute, for horizontal intensity of 0.001. The proper in- 
struments are, for example, the portable Theodolite of Lamont and the ordinary 
dip-needles. 

No. 31. The absolute observations must be executed in close connection and syn- 
chronous with the readings of the variations instruments, in order to be able to reduce 
the data given by the latter to an absolute normal value, and to determine the zero 
point of the scales. The determinations must be made so frequently that the changes 
in the absolute value of the zero point of the scales of the variations apparatus can be 
accurately checked thereby. 

No. 32. Observations of Variations. — These ought to include the three elements and 
be made, by means of instruments, with small needles, in contrast to the apparatus of 
Gauss. In order to obtain an uninterrupted reciprocal control, two complete sets of 

•For special instructions in magnetic work, furnished by the Superintendent of the TTnited States- 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, see Section IV of these in.struction8. 



10 APPENDIX. 

variations instruments are desirable, and recomuiended, in order to avoid any inter- 
ruption of the observations, by reason of breakage, derangement, &c. 

[One set of tliese instruments is now provided, but a second set may be sent in 1881.] 

33. The horizontal intensity in one, at least, of these systems should be observed 
■with the unifilar apparattis. Because of the magnitude of th(^ perturbations to be 
observed the scales of the variations instruments must have at least a range of 10 
degrees, and the arrangements are to be so made that the greatest possible simul- 
taneity of the readings may be achieved. 

34. During the entire period of occupancy of the station tlie variations instruments 
will be read hourly. It is desirable that two readings be made ; for instance, just 
before and after the full hour, with an interval of a few minutes between. 

35. Weyprecht presented the following separate note on this point : "Since it ap- 
pears to me that in these regions of almost perpetual disturbances, hourly readings, 
made at moments not well defined, are insufficient to establish mean values accu- 
rately expressing the local perturbations for a given epoch (which data ought to serve 
as a means of comparison with other localities), and in consideration of the slight in- 
crease of labor which will be caused by taking readings at precise moments, I cannot 
agree with the views of the majority of the conference." 

"I state that at least the expedition conducted by myself will take readings hourly 
of all three variations instruments at 58""". O^"". ; .59'""'. 0^' ^ ; 60""ii. gsec, . (jimin, Qsec. . 
62™™. 0='^'=. ; Gottingen mean time. 

" Weyprecht." 

[Observations will be taken as specified by Weyprecht.] 

36. As term days, the 1st and 15th day of each month will be observed fi-om midnight 
to midnight, Gottingen time. The readings will be taken at intervals of 5 minutes, 
always on the full minutes, and the three elements are to be read with all possible 
rapidity; one after the other, in the following order: 1. Horizontal intensity; 9. 
Declination ; 3. Vertical intensity. 

37. For these term days, the plan of magnetic work should comprehend continuous 
readings; for instance, readings every 20 seconds — throughout one whole hour — even 
though only one magnetic element be observed. Tt is the opinion of the Conference 
that the observations should begin so that one of the hours of observation shall agree 
with the first hour of the 1st of January, and that during the entire period of magnetic 
work the hours devoted to this continuous observation should be changed on each 
successive semi-monthly term day. 

38. The accuracy of the magnetic observations should be such as to give the decli- 
nation to the nearest minute and the horizontal and vertical intensity in units of the 
fourth decimal place. 

39. On the term days, observations of auroras are also to be made continuously. 
Moreover, auroras are also to be observed from hour to hour throughout the period 
of magnetic observations, and especially in reference to their form and momentary 
position in altitude and true azimuth. The intensity of the light is to be estimated 
on a scale of 1, 2, 3, 4. 

No. 40. Isolated auroral phenomena must be made the subject of thorough observa- 
tion in connection, with which the various phases are to be noted simultaneously with 
readings of the magnetic-variations instruments. 

[Those of the party not engaged at the magnetic instruments will observe and re- 
cord auroral phenomena.] 

No. 41. Since the greatest possible simultaneity in the reading is a point of the high- 
est importance, the determinations of the location and of the time are to be made 
with instruments having firm foundations (such as the universal instrument or in- 
strumental theodolite, the vertical circle, zenith telescope, astronomical transit, &c.); 
this, however, does not exclude the use of reflecting instruments of a superior class. 
By all means, therefore, must efforts be made to determine the geographical position, 
and especially the longitude, of the station as soon as jjossible after it has been occu- 
pied. 

[The first approximate longitude of the station, as determined by chronometers, will 
be checked as frequently as possible by lunar distances, occultations, &c., and the 
value adopted in the daily work of the station will be revised as often as necessary, 
preferably at the end of each quarter. The details of the magnetic observations will 
be regulated according to the instructions published by the Superintendent of the 
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.] 

3. ELECTIVE OBSERVATIONS. 

No. 42. The conference recommends the following observations and investigations 
most earnestly to the consideration of all those to whom is intrusted the preparatioa 
-of instructions for an expedition, or who themselves are assigned to such work. 



APPENDIX. It 

No. 43. Meteorological. — The dimmution of temperature witli altitude, the tempera- 
ture of the earth, of the snow, and of the ice at the different depths, should be deter- 
mined. 

[The forms of the snow-crystals should be recorded by careful drawings ; the amount 
of hoar-frost accumulated on some well-exposed object should be measured by the 
use of the scales furnished by the Medical Department. Ajtparatus is ordered to be 
provided for the preservation of air aud of air-dust for future analysis.] 

No. 44 Observations of insolation (or solar radiation) are to be made, as well as 
observations on spontaneous evaporation, which latter can be made during the win- 
ter by weighing cubes of ice and during the summer by the evaporimeters. 

[A shallow circular vessel of water, whether fluid or frozen, exposed to the open air 
and sunshine, should have its loss of weight determined daily or oftener by delicate 
scales. ] 

No. 45. Magneiical. — From time to time absolute simultaneous readings of all three 
elements of terrestrial magnetism must be made in order to accurately determine the 
ratio betAveen the simultaneous changes of the horizontal aud those of vertical in- 
tensity. 

46. Galvanic earth currents. — Observations are desired of earth currents in intimate 
connection with magnetic observations and the auroral phenomena. 

[Telegraph lines of well-insulated wire extending a sliort distance N. and E., and 
also E. and W., and furnished with resistance coils and deflection needles, are sup- 
plied, and every effort should be made to carry out thes-e observations.] 

47. HydrograpMc investigation. — Observations of the direction aud strength of the 
ocean currents and the movements of the ice. 

48. Deep sea soundings and observations upon the physical j)roperties of the sea-water 
for instance, determination of the temperature, specific density, gaseous contents, &c., 
and these objects should be specially kept in view in the selection of a vessel for the 
expedition. Observations on tides, when possible, should be made with the self-reg- 
istering apparatus. 

[With regard to tidal observations, the instructions iniblished by the United Statea 
Coast and Geodetic Survey are to be followed. Glass-. stoppered bottles are provided 
for preserving specimens of sea-water to be brought back for examination.] 

49. Faraliax of the aurora. — Determination should be made of the altitude of the 
aurora, by means of measurements, made, for example, with the meteorograph, which 
must be made by small detached parties of observation, having also, if possible, one 
party observing simultaneously the variatious of magnetic declination. 

[Particular attention will be paid to determining the apparent position in altitude 
and azimuth of bright meteors and shooting stars aud of definite portions of the aurora 
borealis, aud to drawings of the appearances presented by the phenomena as seen by 
observers situated as far apart (say one-half to five miles) as possible. In these 
drawings the auroral phenomena should a])pear in their proper )>ositions relatively 
to the horizon, meridian, fixed stars, &c. ; and to that end each member of the party, 
without exception, will learn the names and configurations of the stars shown upon 
the map of stars furnished you. A supply of these maps is furnished suflticient to 
allow of using them as base charts upon which to enter the observed phenomena in 
special cases. Attention is called to the points of inquirv suggested in the Annual 
Keport of the Chief Signal Officer, 1876, pp. 301-3.35.] 

50. Observations of, I, atmospheric electricity; 2, astronomical and terrestrial re- 
fractions; 3, length of the simple second's pendulum ; 4, observations on the forma- 
tion and growth of floating ice and glaciers. 

[Attention is called to the observations on the formation of ice made by Nai'es and 
other explorers. The pendulum observations will be made in accordance with special 
Coast Survey instructions.] 

51. Observations and collections in the realms of zoology, botany, geology, &c. 
[The instructions given by Professor Spencer F. Baii'd to the naturalist will be fol- 
lowed by him.] 

52. There will also be made special observations relating to the whole ])olar prob- 
lem, such as the flight of birds, presence of driftwood and from what direction it 
came, and otiier matters as may suggest themselves from time to time and be found 
practicable. 

III. — SPKCI.XL IXSTRCCTIOXS KELATIVE TO CAIJE AND USK Ol' SPECIAL THERMOME- 
TERS. 

{See paragraph 19, page 5.) 

The coustriu'tion <if the minimum standard thermometers designed for the Arctic 
stations having been entrusted to the thermometric bureau of the Winchester Ob- 
servatory of Yale College, the astrr-nomer in charge of that institutimi furnishes the 
following special instructions, which will be carefully followe<l : 



12 APPENDIX. 

'•New Ha vex, Mat/ 30, 1851. 
"general remarks and directions concerning the signal service minimum 
standards, nos. i to 12, inclusive, constructed by the winchester observa- 
tory of yale college.— j. and h. green, mechanicians. 

"Materials. — The alcoliol, carbou disulpbide, and ethyl oxide used are as pure as 
the chemical processes will admit. For thermoDietric purposes they may be assumed 
chemically pure. Thei-e is no more air above the liquid columns than is accidentally 
admitted in the process of sealing the tubes. In this respect these standards are dif- 
ferent from the ordinary spirit thermometers. It is probable that the great purity of 
the alcohol will render it nearly as valuable for temperatures below — 80° F. as the car- 
bon and ether thermometers. 

'^Directions for carriage. — It is highly desirable that these thermometers should be 
kept, as nearly as possible, in the same condition as on leaving the observatory. For 
this purpose they have been carefully packed in a vertical position, and care must 
be taken to see that they are so repacked, with the btilb down. Owing to the low 
boiling-points of the ether and carbon disulphide they are not (probably) acciu'ate 
at temperatures above -j-60° F., but they will remain clear and lim))id at tempera- 
tures below zero, at which the alcohol thermometers may (but hardly probably) 
show viscidity. It is desirable therefore that preference be given to these standards 
over any other standards for extremely low temperatures, and in establishing the 
meteorological observatory at which tlie greatest cold is expected special attention 
should be given to the ether and carbon disulphide thermometers. 

"Suggestions in their use. — Before mounting these thermometers in their station.* 
they should be carefully swung or jarred so that no spirit can be detected (with a 
magnifying glass) adhering to their upper ends. They should be inclined (with the 
bulb end nearest the ground) as far as it is safe, and have the index stand in its place 
by its own friction against the side of the tube, so that the drainage may be as per- 
fect as possible. * 

"All readings should be recorded in millimeters, and it should be remembered that 
the accomjianying tabular corrections (see the correction cards) are meant to give only 
approximate temperatures. A careful comparison of all the thermometers from 1 to 
12 has been made between and 90°, and Nos. 1. 5, and 9 have been kept by the ob- 
servatory for experiments at temperatures below 0° F. 

"These are probably the best thermometers ever sent into the Arctic regions, and 
special care should be taken to insure the safe return of the records and, though le.s.s 
import.aut, the instruments." 

IV. — SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS PREPARED BY THE UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC 
SURVEY FOR OBSERVATIONS IN TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM AT POINT BARROW AND 
LADY FRANKLIN BAY. 

[These instructions will be applied, when suitable, to the observations ordered in 
preceding l)ages, but they will also furnish a guide to the minimum number of observa- 
tions to be taken in case of accidents occurring to prevent full compliance with the 
plan ijroposed by the International Polar Commission.] 

As soon as the quarters of the expedition have been fixed upon a magnetic house 
will be erected, in which the regular magnetic observations, as described below, will 
be made; other observations will be made when on boat or sledge trips. 

Instruments. — For use at the magnetic observatory there will be provided a mag- 
netometer, for absolute and differential declination and for horizontal magnetic in- 
tensity, to be permanently mounted on a stone pier. In connection with this instru- 
ment a meridian or azimuth mark will be established a short distance off" the ob- 
servatory and visible from it through an opening in the wall. The astronomical 
bearing of this mark will be carefully determined by means of an altazimuth instru- 
ment and solar or stellar observations. 

In the same house, but on a separate pier, will be mounted a Kew dip circle, and 
in the case of Point Barrow a third instrument, a bifilar magnetometer, will also be 
permanently mounted on its pier. At Point Barrow the magnetometer (or unitilar) 
and the bifilar instruments will be mounted in the magnetic meridian and at a dis- 
tance of not less than 12 feet, and the dip circle will be mounted equidistant from 
these instruments, forming an equilateral triangle. At Lady Franklin Bay the two 
instruments will be mounted in the plane of the magnetic prime vertical, and not 
less than 12 feet apart. No iron is to be used in the construction of these buildings, 
and they should be not nearer than 50 yards to any other building, or double that 
distance to any large mass of iron. Special reading-lamps (of copper) must be pro- 
vided for use with the instruments, and they must be tested to make sure that they 
do uot affect the position of the magnets. The use of candles stuck into wooden 
blocks is preferable to using lamps. 

* This method contbims to that followed at all signal stations with minimum thermometers, except 
afl to degree of inclination, wherein these suggestions should he most carefully followed. 



APPENDIX. ' 13 

When on boat or sledge journeys the jmrty will carry a chronometer, a small alt- 
azimuth instrument with circles of about 3 inches diameter (as constructed by Fauth 
& Co., of Washington, or by Casella, of London), provided with a magnetic needle 
or compass mounted over its vertical axis, and a dip circle. 

Observations at the permanent station. — Hourly observations will be made, for decli- 
nation and diiirnal variation, with the magnetometer on three consecutive days about 
the middle of each month; besides these observations, extending over 72 hours, there 
will be made at any convenient intermediate time each day (of the three) one set of 
deflections, followed immediately by a set of oscillations for the determination of the 
horizontal intensity. At Point Barrow tlie bifilar will be read immediately after the 
iinifilar. There will also be made at any intermediate time each day (of the three) a 
set of dip observations. In connection with the declination, the mark will be read 
once each day (unless the instrument should accidentally be disturbed), but it suffices 
to determine the niagnetic axis of the declination magnet on one of the three days. 
The instrumental constants of the magnetometer will be determined before leaving 
Washington, and the observers will use the Coast and Geodetic Survey magnetic 
Wank forms for their records, or, in case no special forms are provided, they will use 
small (octavo) note-books; they will also compute, as soon as the observations are 
com])leted each month, the magnetic mean declination, diurnal range, and turning 
hours ; also the horizontal force in absolute measure (English units) and the dip, tab- 
ulating the results for each day. 

Extra observations on other than the three days about the middle of each month 
will be made during all occui-rences of auroral displays ; but as they are likely to be 
very numerous at Point Barrow, observers there may confine their extra observations 
to the more conspicuous displays only. On these occasions the declinometer (and 
the bifilar at Point Barrow) will be read, say, every 10 minutes, or at shorter or longer 
intervals as the state of the needle may appear to demand, the object being to estab- 
lish a connection between the appearances of the aurora and the motion of the mao- 
netic needle. 

When landing on a boat-journey, or during a sledge-journey at suitable stations 
(not less than 10 or 15 miles apart), the time, latitude, and azimuth will be determined 
\ij the altazimuth instrument, and the declination by the same instrument (the hour 
and minute of the observation is to be noted, in order that the diurnal variation may 
be allowed for) ; the dip will also be observed, and in case time is pressing, reversal 
of circle, reversal of face of needle, and reversal of polarity may be dispensed with, 
but the needed correction to the result, from the single position of the instrument, 
must be ascertained at the permanent station. Observations of deflections (with 
magnetic needle and with weights) will be made with the dip circle, as arranged for 
relative and absolute total force, the data for the latter to be supplied at the i)erma- 
nent station. 

It is highly desirable, especially in the case of the Lady Franklin Bay party, that 
all stations within reach and formerly occupied by other parties for magnetic pur- 
poses be revisited, in order to furnish material from which to deduce the secular 
change during the interval ; besides, all opportunities should be taken when landing 
on the way up to secure observations for declination, dip, and intensity — the latter 
best by oscillations of the intensity magnet. The winter quarters of the late English 
expedition should be connected magnetically with the present quarters. 

[All magnetic observations will be made on Gottingen time, as provided for by the 
Hamburg Conference.] 

All magnetic records Avill be kept strictly in conformity with "Notes on Measure- 
ments of Terrestrial Magnetism," United States Coast Survey, Washington, 1877, and 
other records in connection therewith should be equally clear and complete, and all 
computations should be made by the observer in separate books. Duplicates of all 
records will be made, compared with the original, and the latter returned annually, 
if practicable, to the Chief Signal Officer for the Superintendent of the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, Washington, D. C. The observers should also provide themselves 
with copies of the "Admiralty Manual of Scientific Enquiry," the "Arctic Manual and 
Instructions," 1875, and "Aurorse, their characters and spectra," by J. E. Capron, 1880; 
also with " Terrestrial and Cosmical Magnetism," by E. Walker, 1866, and any other 
work they may require for their information. 

V. — ADDITIONAL SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

The rules prescribed in "Instructions for the Expedition toward the North Pole," 
as published (in pamphlet) by authority of the Hon. George M. Robeson, .Secretary 
of the Navy, and those contained in " Suggestions Relative to Objects of Scientific In- 
vestigation in Russian America, " both of which are furnished, will be followed as closely 
as circumstances permit. 



14 APPENDIX. 

VI. — MEMORANDUM OF OUTFIT. 

List of apparatus to he furnished to Point Barrow and, ivith some exceptions and additions, to 

Lady Fraiiliin Bay. 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL APPARATUS. 

1 Surveyor's Compass and Tripod. 

1 100 feet Chain or Steel Taj^e. 

1 Prismatic Compass. 

1 Set of Pins. 

1 Altitude and Azimutli, six-incli circles. 

1 Meridian Transit, about 2 or 3 inches aperture. 

2 Extra Level Tubes for low temperatures for Meridian Transit. 

3 Sextants. 

3 Artificial Horizons. 

8 Marine Clironometers — mean time. ( If practicable these will be rated at vari- 

1 " " — siderial. < ous temperatures at the Horological Bureau 

2 Pocket •' — mean time. ( of the Observatory of Yale College. 
1 House (Astronomical Observatory). [Plan to be supplied.] 

Charts of the Alaska coast from tlie United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

MAGNETIC APPARATUS. 

1 Complete Magnetometer — Fauth & Co. — unifilar declinometer — catalogue No. 

70, price $400, extra light needles and mirror for auroral disturbances. 
1 Kew Dip Circle, larger size. 
1 Bifilar Magnetometer. 
1 Magnetic Observatory Building (see iilan). 

TIDAL APPARATUS. 

1 Level and Staff. 

2 Pulleys and Weight and Float. 

50 Glass Stoppered Bottles for specimens of sea- water. 

PENDULUM APPARATUS. 

Pendulum apparatus will be carried and used by a special temporary party firom 
the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

DEEP SEA SOUNDING. 
( Will he left to the United States Coast Survey. ) 

METEOROLOGICAL APPARATUS. 

1 Instrument Shelter of open wooden louvre work, made in sections (see plan). 

1 Inner Thermometer Shelter of open galvanized iron louvre work, made in sec- 

tions (see plan). 
12 Mercurial Thermometers, ordinary stem divided. 

2 Metallic Thermometers. 

12 Spirit Thermometers, ordinary stem divided. 
6 Mercurial Thermometers, maximum stem divided. 
6 Spirit Thermometers, minimum stem divided. 
6 Special Minimum Thermometers, from Yale College. 

4 Psychrometers, mercurial wet bulb. 

1 Dew point Apparatus ; Eegnault's as modified by Alluard, with extra thermom- 

eters for low and high temperature. 
6 Water Thermometers and 3 cases. Signal Service pattern, for surface tempera- 
tures. 

2 pairs Marie-Davy's Conjugate Thermometers for solar radiation. ) Will be 
2 pairs Violle's Conjugate Bulbs for solar radiation. Ssent next 
2 Hicks' Thermometers for terrestial radiation. ) year. 

2 Mercurial Marine Barometers. 

4 Mercurial Cistern Barometers, (Green, Signal Service pattern) large bore, read- 
ing to thousandths. 



APPENDIX. 15 

3 Aneroid Barometers, (Caselia's aiake). 
2 Hair Hygrometers. 

2 Self-registers, 1 double aud 1 siugle, for Anemometers and Anemoscopes (Sig- 
nal Service pattern — Gibbon or Eccard). 
6 extra attached Thermometers for Barometers. 
6 extra Barometer Tubes for Barometers. 

4 Rain-gauges, 2 copjjer and 2 galvanized iron. 
6 Divided Sticks for measuring rain and snow. 

10 lbs. pure Mercury. 
4 Anemometers (Robinson's). 

4 Arms and cups and 4 spindles, for Robinson's Anemometer, for repairs. 
2 Vanes, small. 
1 Large Vane, complete. 
1 Eccard Contact (interior). 

10 Battery cells (Eagle) and supplies for same for three years. 
2,000 yards Insulated Wire. 

4 Telephones and 2 call bells. 

1 Galvanometer for observations of ground currents. 
100 feet cable for the double self- register. 
4 Box Sounders. 

1 Delicate Scale and one Medicine Chest (from Medical Department). 
Apparatus for collecting air and atmospheric dust. 

6 Daik Lanterns for observers' use (brass or copper). 

SIGNAL APPARATUS. 

2 Grugan's Heliographs. 

4 Sets Signal Kits comj)lete. 
6 Signal Code Cards. 

BLANK BOOKS AND FORMS. 

12 Diaries for 1881, 1882, and 1883 respectively, one to be kept by each man. 
250 Books for original record of meteorological observations. 

50 blank books for magnetic observations, allowing 2 pages daily and extra pages 
on special days. 

50 blank books for daily journal, for miscellaneous observations. 

25 blank books for tidal observations, allowing 1 page daily. 

25 blank books for astronomical observations. 

50 volumes Form 4, for copy of original record. 
300 Star charts, for auroras, &c. 
100 forms for comparison of Barometers. 
800 forms of Anemometer Register. 



Instructions to Observers, Signal Service, U. S. A. 

Annual Reports of the Chief Signal Officer from 1873 to 1880 inclusive. 

Loomis Treatise on Meteorology. 

Buchan's Handy Book of Meteorology. 

Kaemtz's Meteorology (Walker's translation). 

Mohn's Meteorology (original German). 

Schmid's Meteorology (original German). 

Smithsonian Instructions for register of periodical phenomena. 

Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. I. 

Guyot's Meteorological and Physical Tables. 

Crelle's Multiplication Tables. , 

Blanford's Indian Meteorologist's Vade Mecum, parts I, II, III. 

Loomis' Practical Astronomy, 

Church's Trigonometry. 

Chauvenet's Practical Astronomy. 

Bowditch's Navigator. 

Bowditch's Useful Tables. 

Lee's Collection of Tables and Formula, 

American Nautical Almanac for 1881, 1882, and 1883. 

Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry, 4th ed. 

Admiralty Manual and Instructions for Arctic Expedition, 1875. 

Nares', etc, Reports of English Arctic Expedition. 



16 APPENDIX. 

Nares' Narrative of Voyage to Polar Sea, Loiuloii, 1878. 

Ball's Meteorology of Alaska from Pacific Coast Pilot, United States Coast Sur- 
vey. 

Ball's Resources of Alaska. 

Harkness on Sextants, United States Naval Observatory, observations for 1869, 
Appendix 1, pages 51 to 57. 

Charts, United States Hydrographic Office, No. 68, and British Admiralty, Noa. 
593, 2164, 2435. 

Chambers' Bescriptive Astronomy. 

Bremiker's edition of Vega's Logarithmic Tables. 

Barlow's Tables. 

W. S. Harris' Rudimentary Magnetism. 

Coast Survey Papers on Time, Latitude, Longitude, Magnetics, and Tidal Ob- 
servations. 

Everett's Translation of Beschanel. 

Jenkin. Electricity and Magnetism, 4th ed., N. Y., 1879. 

Reports of United States Fish Commission on Bredging. 

Sigsbee on Beep Sea Sounding, etc. (United States Coast Survey Report.) 

Markham's Collection of Papers Relating to Arctic Geography, London, 1877. 

Schott's Reduction of Observations, of Hayes and Sonntag. 
" Br. Kane. 

" McClintock. 

Manual of Military Telegraphy. 

Myer's Manual of Signals. 

J. R. Capron, Aurorse: their Characters and Spectra. 

E. Walker, Terrestrial and Cosmical Magnetism. 

Pope's Modern Practice of the Electric Telegraph. 

Instructions for the Expedition toward the North Pole, from Hon. George M. 
Robeson, ^secretary of the Navy. 

Suggestions Relative to Objects of Scientific Investigation in Russian America. 

Stationary as ordinarily supplied. 

Brawing paper and instruments. 

All officers and observers of the expedition are charged to at once familiarize them- 
selves in detail with these instructions, and in the practice of the duties they pre- 
scribe, together with a thorough knowledge of the instruments and their use; and 
commanding officers are specially charged to see that these requirements are observed. 

OFFICIAL MEMORANDUM TO ACCOMPANY INSTRUCTIONS NO. 72. 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(11.) 
[Vol. 7, C. S. 0., p. 253. 2110 Mis., 1881.] 

War Bepartment, 
Office Chief Signax Officer, 

Washington, D. C, June 20, 1881. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to request that the honorable the Secretary of the Navy b« 
asked to direct the naval vessel stationed at St. John's, Newfoundland, to transfer 
to Ist Lieutenant A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting signal officer and assistant, com- 
manding expeditionary force to Polar Seas, five hundred (500) lbs. mortar powder, 0.06 
inch, and five hundred lbs. cannon powder, 0.25 inch, in exchange for the same quan- 
tity stored at Fort McHenry, Maryland, and which it is impossible to ship in time. 

If favorable consideration is given this request I would ask that I be so informed at 
the earliest date practicable, so that Lieutenant Greely may be telegraphed on or be- 
fore the 28th inst. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 17 

(12.) 

[Vol. 7, C. S. O., p. 341.J 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, D. C, June 25, 1881. 
To Lieut. Greely, 

(Care U. S. Consul, St. John's, Newfoundland). 
Navy Department says Alliance has only small quantity of powder for signal pur- 
poses and no guns. You will have to purchase. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



HAZEN. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(13.) 

[Vol. 15, Mis., p. 446.] 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, June 28, 1881 — 11.25 a. m. 
To Lieut. Greely, 

Saint John's, Newfoundland : 
Alliance has only two thousand rounds. Cannot spare a round. Have you got rifle, 
revolver, or shot-gun ammunition, ordered June 3, or is it at McHenry ? Can you wait 
for express shipment ? Schneider's vouchers received minus pay. 
Eeply. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



CAZIARC. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(14.) 

[3479 Mis., '81.1 

ABSTRACT OF DAILY JOURNAL LADY FRANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION. 

Juhj 1st, 1881.—^^; Johii's, Newfdl. 

(Instrument exposure — Observation commenced.) 

First observation taken at 6.30 a. m. (Wash, mean time) from marine barometer No. 
2418, suspended in cabin of S. S. Proteus at an elevation of six feet eight inches. 
Correction for elevation, as given by Lieut. Greely, +.007 (constant). Temperature 
of air taken by suspending min. thermo., No. 583, from stern of vessel in the shade. 
But one observation a day taken, consisting of barometer, exposed thermo., direction 
and force of wind, clouds and state of weather. 



July 2d.—S. S. Proteus, St. John's, N'f'd. 



Weather fair. 
Fair weather. 



Cloudy. 

S. Ex. 100— AP- 



July Sd.—St. John's, N'f'd. 
July ifh.—St. John's, N'f'd 



18 APPENDIX. 

July Uli.—St. John's, N'f'd. 

(Elevation of barometer changed — Instrument shelter.) 

Foggy. Barometer moved to captain's room 11 a. m. Elevation, 2 feet 8 inches. 
Exposed thermo., No. 1031 (hygrometer pattern), and wet bulb. No. 152, placed in 
position, Inclosed in shelter from abaft the forecastle, three feet eleven inches above 
deck. Raining during afternoon. Bar. reading at 11 p. m. not taken. Room con- 
taining bar. locked. 

July 6th.— St. John's, N'f'd. 

(Four hourly observations commenced.) 

Began taking observation every four hours. Weather fair. 

July 7th.— St. John's, N'fd. 

(Left St. John's.) 

Sailed from St. John's at 11 a. m. Observations of temp, of sea-water began at 11 
a. m. No. of thermo. used 327. Weather fair. No aurora. 

July 6th.— Lat. 50° 32' north. Long. 53° 5' JV., d. r. 

(Rainbow — Auroral arch. ) 

Light rain during afternoon. Rainbow observed at sunset. A very bright auroral 
arch was observed at 11.15 p. m., extending from NE. to NW., the center being about 
15° above the horizon. At 11.45 p. m. the eastern end of the arch faded and the 
western assumed the curtain formation. It shot up a few streamers. Aurora. 

July 9th.— Lat. 52° 37' N., Long. 53° 15' W, dead recTconing. 

(Auroral arch — Gale.) 

At 12.10 a. m. the aurora had entirely disappeared. Its color was pale yellow, and 
the outlines of the arch were very distinct. Moon was shining very bright during 
the entire display. The wind Increased in velocity after midnight from NW., and 
between 2 and 3 a. m. was blowiug a gale, reaching its max. at 4 a. m. ; after which 
time it fell slightly, and then remained steady until 3 p. m., when it began to fall 
rapidly. The sea during the storm was very rough. The sky during the day was 
covered by strata of clouds, followed by dense fog at 11 p. m. Aurora. 

July 10th. — Lat. at noon 55° 0', Long. 52° 53', dead reckoning. 

(Falling barometer.) 

No wind at 3 a. m. Increased to fresh at 7 a. m., and remained steady during the 
day. Direction variable. Fog remained until eaiiy a. m., when it was superseded 
by stratus clouds, which remained. Bar. fell quite rapidly, amounting to .571 of an 
inch between 3 a. m. and 11 p. m. Temp, steady. Obscured. 

July 11. — Lat. at noon 58° 8' A' , Long. 53° 52' W., dead reckoning. 

(Brisk wind.) 

Bar. continued falling until 11 a. m., when it attained its min. at 29.285 ; after 
which it rose steadily. Temp, rose to 48° 8' at 7 a. m., falling to 42° 9' at night. 
Wind variable between NE. andNW., during the day, blowing fresh in the a. m. 
and increasing to brisk at 7 p. m., causing a heavy head sea. Sky in the morning 
partly covered by cirrus and cumstratus clouds, the latter increasing to 10 at 11 a. m., 
but changed to stratus, and from that to nimbus at 4 p. m., at which time rain began, 
which continued until 10,15 p. m. Obscured. 



APPENDIX. 1& 

JuliJ 12t]t.—Lat. at noon 60° 48' N., Long. 53° 46' W., dead reckoning. 
(Icepack — Rain.) 

Steady bar and falling temp. Min. for tlie day 35° ; at 11 p. m. wind brisk from 
NW., with heavy sea at 7.30 p. m., when we sighted an ice pack, which caused the 
sea to become smooth. The pack extended from east to west as far as could be seen. 
It was not compact enough to interfere materially with onr running, as we made our 
way through it at half speed. 

The sea temp, at surface fell from 39° 7' at 7 p. m. to 34° 1' at 11 p. m., at which 
time an observation was taken at a depth of 30 feet ; result, 33° 7'. Rain began to 
fall at 10 p. m. Obscured. 

July 13th.— Lai. at noon 62° 22' N. Long., 53° 6' W.,ilead reckoning. 

(Rain — Snow — Ice packs — Seals.) 

Rain ended, and snow began at 2 a. m., the latter ending at 4.30 a. m. ; amount 
light ; sky remained cloudy during the day ; cleared the ice pack at 3 a. m. ; temp, 
of water rising ; at 7 a. m. 3° ; at 1 p. m. we encountered another ice pack of about 
the same compactness as the first, clearing it at 2 p. m. 

Numerous seals were observed on the ice. Temp, of surface water fell 4° at 3 j). 
m., rising to 38° — arise of 4° — at 7 p.m. Min. temp. 35° at 3 a. m. ; wind fresh and 
steady from NW. all day. Obscured. 

July lAtli. — Lat. at noon 64° 14' iV. Long., 53° .37' fV.^ dead reckoning. 

Low but steady barometer ; min. thermo. 36° at 3 a. m. Dense fog until late in the 
afternoon, when it cleared away; raining; perfectly clear the balance of the day. 
Wind NW. and light until 11 p. m., when it increased to fresh. No aurora. 

July 15th. — Xft/. at noon 66° 41' N. Lonq., 55° 16' W., observation. 

(Brisk wind.) 

Steady baro. and thermo. prevailing ; wind N. ; force brisk, with heavy swells ; at 
4.30 a. m. dense fog formed, which was superceded by stratus clouds during the morn- 
ing, the latter remaining during the balance of the day. Obscured. 

July l&th. — Godhavn, Ch'eenland. 

(Arrived at Godhavn.) 

Slight falling baro. and rising temperature. Prevailing wind NW. ; force light. 
Foggy nearly all day ; clearing at 7 p. m. Arrived at Disco at 8 p. m. ; there was a 
rise about 8° in the temperature of the sea water at surface after entering Disco Har- 
bor. Obscured. 

July 17th. — Godhavn, Disco IsL, Greenland, 

Wind changed to southerly after 3 a. m. ; baro. rising slowly ; temperature even 
weather cloudy ; clouds alternating between fog and stratus. Obscured. 

July 18th. — Godhavn, Disco Isl., Greenland, 

(Rain.) 

Steady baro. ; even temperature; wind fresh from SW. all day; weather cloudy 
until 9.20 p. m., when light rain began falling, ending at 9.25 p. m. Obscured. 

July 19fA. — Godhavn, Disco Isl., Greenland, 

Falling baro. and rising temperature, attaining its max. at 3 p. m,, at 49° 8'. Wind 
light and varying between SW. and SE.; weather cloudy; sky covered with stratus 
clouds until 7 p. m., when they were superceded by cirrus, which covered three-tenths 
of the skv. No aurora. 



*20 APPENDIX. 

July 20th. — Godhavn, Disco lal., Grreenland:. 

^High temperature — Eaiu — Left Godhavu — Dr. Pavy.) 

Wiucl fresh, with variable directious; slightly falling baro. and high.temperature. 
Max. at 11 a. m. 56° 1'. Weather cloudy at 3 a. m., and fair until 3 p. m., when stratus 
clouds formed again and remained until 6.45 p. m., when rain began falling, ending 
at 10.30 p. m. Left Godhavn at 11.50 p. m. Dr. Pavy joined expedition. Obscured. 

July '2\st. — liitenbenJc, Greenland, 

Weather cloudy ; baro. steady ; temjierature even ; wind light and calm. Arrived 
at Kitenbenk at 9.15 a. m. Obscured. 

Jtily22d. — Bitenhenk, Greenland. 

(Left Eittenbenk — Henry Clay.) 

Steady barometer; even temperature; wind S. E., and light in the morning, iu 
creased to fresh at 11 p. m. Sky covered with stratus clouds until 4 p.m., when rain 
began falling, continuing until 11.25 p. m. Left Kittenbeuk at 1 p. m. via Waigat 
Strait, entering Baffin's Bay at 7 a. m. Henry Clay joined expedition. Obscured. 

July 23.— Lat. 71^ 54' N., Lon. off Coast Greenland, I). li. 

(Eain.) 

Day remained cloudy until about noon, when fog formed and continued until nearly 
night. It then broke away for a short time, and just as we arrived off Upernavik it 
again settled, so that we could not make the harbor. At 9.15 p. m. it began to rain 
and continued the balance of the day. Wind variable, fresh at night ; baro. steady ; 
temp. even. Obscured. 

July 2ith. — Upernavik, Greenland, 

(Rain.) 

Arrived at Upernavik 6.30 a. ni. Falling followed by rising barometer in the after- 
noon, with increased temperature. Rain ended 10.15 a. m. ; recommenced 3.45 p. m, 
and ended at 6 p. m. Weather quite warm ; thermometer at noon registering 54° (5'. 
Obscured. 

July 2bflt. — Upernavik, Greenland. 

(Gale — Rain.) 

Wind rose very rapidly during night, culminating in a gale afc 4 a. m. ; after which 
time it decreased slightly, but continued high until after 3 p. m., when it died away. 
Extra moorings had to be used on the steamer to prevent her drifting. Barometer 
falling slowly. Rain began at 2.30 a. m. and continued until 10.30 a. m. ; recom- 
menced at 5.45 p. m. and continued the balance of the day. From 29 comparative 
readings of Marine barometer No. 2418 with ship's barometer (Aneroid) the latter is 
found to read (36) thirty-six hundredths too high. Obscured. 

July 26th. — Upernavik, Greenland. 

(Rain.) 

Steady falling barometer; stationary temperature ; rain ended at 7.30 a. m. ; light 
southerly winds gentle to calm. Obscured. 

July 27(h. — Upernavik, Greenland. 

(Rain.) 

Light southerly winds and rising barometer ; temperature steady ; light rain began 
falling at 5 a. m. and ended at 9 a. m. During the afternoon the sun made its ap- 
pearance for about 2 hours, which is the first time for several days. Obscured, 



APPENDIX. 21 

July 28th. — Upei'navik, Greenland. 

(High, temperature. ) 

Eising followed by slowly falling barometer during the afternoon, with high tem- 
perature, which at 3 p. m. attained 60° 2'. Weather very pleasant, the sky being 
partly covered with cirrus clouds during the afternoon. Wind variable in direction, 
but light in force. 

D. C. EALSTON, 
W. S. JEWELL, 
Sergeants Signal Corps, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov 9, 1883. 



(16.) 



[ 2269 Mis., 1881. J 
(Telegram 6 W. Eeceived at — , July 1, 1881, 10.45 a. m., from St. John's, July 1.) 

To Signals, Wash'n : 

Letters mailed noon to-day reach us; shall make formal start July fourth, dropping 
down to anchorage in bay, awaiting one hundred packages freight due on Hibernian 
Wednesday. 

GEEELY, Lieut. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(17.) 
[VoL 7, C. S. 0., p. 441.] 

(Telegram.) 

Washington, July M, 1881. 
To Lieut. Greely, 

St. John's, Newfoundland : 
I wish you and your party all success. The President is improving, and hopes for 
his recovery grow stronger. 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office . 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

(18.) 
[3629 Mis-, 1881. J 

St. John's, N'f'd, July 5, 1881. 
My Dear General : We leave St. John's to-morrow, and I am glad to be on my 
way. We have had much to contend with here in a people with whom it is hardly 
possible to deal except by written contract. I get away, however, leaving little, if any, 
more money then I expected. I have had to duplicate some things here, fearing that 
the Allen steamer will not bring them. I have tried to be as economical as I possibly 
could be, and hardly think that much can be charged to extravagant purchases. I 
would advise you by all means to seek proposals for next year's vessel immediately 
on the return of the Protetts. I am quite certain they will attempt to run up the price 
on us next year to $25,000 or perhaps more, but by good management a vessel shoiild 
not cost to exceed, say, $20,000 as a limit, and possibly down to $15,000. I will write 
fully as to the Proteus on her return. I hope to have papers in shape to send estimates 
in some detail from Disco. The men are all behaving well, but the naval engineer 
man keeps very full of beer. We sail to-morrow, if tlie Hibernian gets in. I do not 



22 APPENDIX. 

understand how such delays occurred in the forwarding of ammuuition, photographic 
material, &c., all of which should have been here ten days since. 

A gloom has been cast over us by the terrible attempt on the President's life, but I 
am somewhat eucouraged by your welcome telegram. Give my kindest compliments 
to Mrs. Hazen. 

Faithfully. & sincerely yours, 



Official co])y from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



A. W. GEEELY, 

U. S. Army, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(19.) 
13659 Mis., 1881.1 

St. John's, N'f'd, July 6th, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Akmy: 

Sir : Referring to the items for repairs of steam-launch Lady Greely, No. 66, in the 
bills of Mr. Gemmel and J. & W. Stewart, who paid the last bill to save extra sets of 
vouchers ; I have to say that the machinery has proved thus far too slight and has 
broken three times without any extraordinary cause. She works very iinely now, is 
an excellent sea-boat, and if the engine holds together will do well hereafter. 
I am, resp'y, y'rs, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1st Lt. 5 Cav., A.S. O. and Ass't, Com'd'g L, F. B. Expedition. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(20.) 
[3653 Mis., 81.] 

St. John's, N'f'd, July 7, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army: 

Sir : I enclose herewith description of the Proteus. She has broken her way through 
new ice over two feet thick the whole length of the harbor. She has been pronounced 
by the officers of the U. S. S. Alliance as the best ship for ice work they have ever 
seen. Every shipmaster and every man with whom I have conversed agree that 
there is no better vessel on this coast for such work ; one or two others are of the same 
build and probably as good. The captain is mentioned in the description. The mate, 
engineers, and crew are selected from the entire sealing crew of the firm. I might 
add that the firm has not been able to effect any insurance, and are certain in no 
event to cover more than the hull. This may complicate the hiring of a vessel at this 
price next year. 

I am, resp'y, y'rs, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1st Lt. 5 C, Ass't, Com'd'g. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9. 1883. 

[Inolosure 1.] 

The Proteus was built at Dundee, Scotland, in 1874; Alexander Stevens & Co. She 
is barkentine rigged, and has a gross tonnage of 619 tons and a registered tonnage of 
467 tons. Her register is British ; dimensions as follows : 

Feet. 

Length over all 190 

Breadth of beam 29 

Depth of hold 18 

One pair comi^ound engines, 25 and 50 in. cylinders, with 30-in. stroke; one cylin- 



APPENDIX. 23 

drical boiler, 13 ft. diametei^ and 10 ft. loug; three furnaces; horse-power, 110. The 
ship is built of oak, with a sheathing of "iron-wood" from above the water-line to 
below the turn of the bilge ; the prow armed with iron ; capacity, 8^ knots an hour. 
Capt. Pike has made six sealing and whaling trips in this vessel on the Labrador and 
NeicfoundJand coasts, encountering and breaking through ice each trip. He says the 
vessel is capable of breaking her way, with occasional backing to free herself, through 
new ice to the thickness of eighteen inches. The vessel was built expressly &r 
this kind of work, as she is provided with a spare rudder and two spare screws and 
shafts. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(21.) 
[3241 Mis., 1881. ] 

(Telegram received at 9.26, 1881, 9.54 a. m., from Disco, Greenland, July 18th, '81.) 

To Gen. Hazen, Wash'n, D. C. : 

Arrived Disco July sixteenth, nine p. m. Continuous northerly winds, with thick 
weather, lengthened passage, which was entirely unobstructed by ice. Inspector 
Smith reports mild winter, with advances from Upernavik favorable to easy naviga- 
tion in Melville by Doctor Pavy and Henry Clay at Eitterbank. Well ; party all well. 
Advise all concerned. 

Leave Monday for Upernavik via Eitterbank. 



To Copenhagen. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



GEEELY, 
Commanding. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(22.) 
[3764 Mis., 1881.] 

Abstract of letters of minor importance which have been forwarded by mail from Godhavn, 

Bittenbank, and*Upernivik. 

Disco, July 17, 1881. — C. S. O. transmits a more complete and satisfactory descrip- 
tion of S. S. Proteus. 

Godhavn, July 20. — Surgeon-General U. S. A., through C. S. O., reports contract 
made with Dr. O. Pavy to serve as A. A. surgeon, U. S. A. 

Upernivik, July 24. — Adj. Gen. U. S. A., through C. S. O., advises of Pvt. Connell's 
discharge, expiration term of service. 

Upernivik, July 25. — Adj. Gen. U. S. A., through C. S. O., informs Adj. Gen. of re- 
enlistment of Pvt. Connell for Co. B, 3rd Cav. 

Upernivik, July 25. — C. S. 0. reports discharge and re-enlistment of Pvt. M. Con- 
nell, Co, B, 3rd Cav. 

Upernivik, July 25. — Com'd'g olf, Co. B, 3 Cav., through C. S. O., advises of Pvt. 
M. Connell's discharge and re- enlistment. 

Upernivik, July 25. — C. S. O. transmits copies of meteorological records for past 
winter made by observers at Upernivik and Jacobshavn. 

Upernivik, July 26. — Chief of Engineers U. S. A. transmits return of engineer prop- 
erty for the 2nd quarter, 1881. 

Upernivik, July 26. — Quartermaster-General U. S. A. transmits return of Q. M. stores 
for the 2nd quarter, 1881. 

Upernivik, July 26.— Q. M. Gen. U. S. A. transmits return of C. C. and G. E. for the 
2nd quarter, 1881. 

Upernivik, July 26. — C. S. O. transmits return of signal property for the 2nd quarter, 
1881. 

Upernivik, July 26.— Adj. Gen'] U. S. A., through C. S. O., transmits oath of office 
administered Dr. O. Pavy. 



24 APPENDIX. 

Uperuivik, July 26. — C. S. O. forwards duplicate contract made with Dr. O. Pavy 
for reference to the Surgeon -General, and to Adj. Gen. oath of office. 

Uperuivik, July 26. — Surgeon-Gen. U. S. A., through C. S. O., transmits contract 
(in duplicate) made with Dr. Pavy. 

Uperuivik, July 26. — C. S. O. requests that certain chauges should be made in Pvt.' 
Connell's descriptive list. 

Uperuivik, July 27.— Chief of Ordnance U S. A. states that ord. stores invoiced by 
Capt. McKee have not arrived, and that receipts for same will be forwarded if received 
in 1832. 

Uperuivik, July 27.— Chief of Ordnance U. S. A. transmits return of 0. and O. stores 
for 2nd quarter, 1881. 

Upernivik, July 28.— C. S. O. requests that 49J cts. for tobacco be charged against 
all the enlisted men, excepting Serg't Israel 44f cts. , Serg'ts Rice and Gardener nothing. 
In the case of Pvt. Conuell tobacco to the value of 49i cts. issued, but included in the 
charges requested in a previous letter. 

Upernivik, July 26. — Surgeon-Gen. U. S. A. transmits return of hospital stores for 
2nd quarter, 1881. ' 

Upernivik, July 28. — Chief Com's'y of Subsistence transmits return of subs, stores 
and com's'y prop. 2 quarter, 1881. 

Upernivik, July 29. — C. S. O. recommends that notice be given extensively through 
the press one month before departure of relief steamer in 1882. 

Upernivik, July 29. — C. S. O. transmits original records of observation to date. 

Upernivik, July 29. — C. S. O. reports that temp, of air in the reports pertaining to 
Upernivik are in degrees Centigrade instead of Eeaumur. 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1 Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. 0., and AssH Com'd'g L. F. B. Uxfd'n. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



. . (23.) 

[3523 Mis., 1881.] 

ElTTENBANK, GREENLAND, July 2lst, 1881. 

To the Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., 

Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : I have the honor to report that the Lady Franklin Bay expedition reached 
Rittenbank at 9.30 a. m. to-day. A Danish brig ready for sea permits this further re- 
port. At Godhaveu Herr Krarup Smith, chief inspector of Northern Greenland, re. 
ceived me most kindly and promised all possible assistance. Unfortun ately he was 
obliged to leave on a tour of inspection 12 hours after our arrival, having delayed his 
departure thus long on our account. 

Through the kindness of his excellent wife I was, however, enabled to obtain a fair 
supply of dogs, dog-meat, dried fish, and sealskins, which had been negotiated for 
through the energy of Dr. O. Pavy. Dr. Pavy was at Eittenbank on our arrival, but 
reached Godhaveu the morning of July 20th. A contract at once was made with him 
to serve as act'g ass't surgeon of the expedition . We were prevented by fog from leav- 
ing Godhaven until 12.30 a. m., July 21st, and arrived here, 60 miles distant, as stated 
above, having been delayed a short time by thick weather. A good set of observa- 
tions for time were obtained at Godhaven, p.m. of July 19th, a. m. of 20th, the only 
times on which the sun was to be seen during our stay. 

Dr. Pavy has nine dogs, which makes, with the 12 bought, 21, and has also three 
sledges and certain other trappings. He has also accumulated 3.500 lbs. of dried fish 
at this place. The arrangements made by Dr. Pavy at his own risk have been of 
marked benefit to the service, as a supply of dogs and food can rarely be obtained 
save by ordering in advance. 

Mr. Henry Clay'has been hired to accompany the exx^edition to L. F. B., at a nominal 
salary of $15.00 dollars per month and a ration, as a signal service assistant. Acting 
on the advice of Herr Inspector Smith, arrangements for certain clothing, the two 
Esquimau hunters, and the balance of dogs have been deferred until we reach Uper- 
nivik, where I expect to find the inspector. 

I hope to leave here to-morrow morning, and, proceeding through the Waigat Strait, 
reach Upernivik by July 23d. In addition to the mildness of the winter, I have to 



APPENDIX. 25 

report that tlie spring Las been uuusually early. Everything now seems to favor a 
fortunate journey northward. Lieut. Lockwood has been sent withfourmen to-day to 
obtain some birds from a "loomery" several miles distant from here. All officers and 
men are in the best of health. 

I am, verv respectfully, your obedient servant, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1st Lieut. 5th Cavalry, Act. Signal Officer and 

Assistant Com'd'g L. F. B. Expedition. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offieei\ 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(24.) 
[3456 Mis., 1881. ] 

Upernivik, Greenland, July 26, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army: 

Sir : I have to report that I have this day forwarded to your office duplicate con- 
tracts made with Octave Pavy, M. D., July 20, 1881, at Godhavu, Gd., to serve as 
Actg. Asst. Surg, of this expedition, for reference to the Surgeon-General ; also to 
the Adjutant-General, through you, a copy of oath administered to Dr. Pavy, on his 
entering on his duties. 

I am, resp'y, yours, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1st Lt. 5 Cav. A. S. 0. ^ Asst. Com'd'g L. F. B. Expedition. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(25.) 

£3402 Mis., 1881.] 

• Upernivik, Gd., July 29, 1881. 

Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to recommend that arrangements be made at St. John's, Nfd. ^ 
this year for the following stores, to be ready and to be paid for next summer, when 
the relief steamer leaves : 

Six tons dried seal meat (should be pressed in bales and kept dry ; cost should be 
trifling, as it is used considerably for manure ; has been sold fresh for 40c. a barrel) : 
very necessary for dogs, and if not sent will cause much greater expenditure — prob- 
ably ten times over ; should be baled, covered with water- proof material. (75) seventy- 
five pairs seal-skin boots (with hair off, shaved or tanned), of three largest sizes; 50 prs. 
to be unsoled ivith leather, and 25 prs. to have leather soles attached, as is done for sealing 
use (should cost about $2.50 for plain boots and $5.00 for the soled boots) ; these 
boots should be best quality, and guaranteed to be water-tight. 1.50 i^airs "Iceland- 
stockings ; " should cost about 40 to 50c. per pair ; should be good quality to wear 
(but not the best) ; same as generally used among sealers. 5 "square flipper" seal- 
skins, shaved; ov, if not to be had, 10 "old- dog-harp" seal-skins (the whole lot, either 
hind, should cost about $30 to $35) ; needed for repair of boots, &c. ; very important. 

Proposals should be asked for the furnishing of these supplies of J. & W. Stewart, 
C. F. Bennett, Walter Grieve &; Co., Browning Bros., St. John's, and Munn & Co., 
Harbor Grace. All things being equal, I would recommend J. & W. Stewart as very 
reliable. Care should be taken to insist on good articles. 

Mr, MoUoy, U. S. consul, would undoubtedly attend to the inspection and proposal. 
It is most impoi'tant that these articles should be obtained at St. John's. 

The clothing now had is barely sufficient for use during the coming twelvemonth, 
and a supply cannot be had in Greenland under less than a year, ordered in advance,, 
and even then is uncertain. It is more than probable, too, that the cost would be 
really less in St. John's than here. 



26 APPENDIX. 

Action is necessary this autumn, as some of tlie articles are obtained in Labrador, 
and the seal meat must be caught in March. 
I am, respectfully, y'rs, 

A. W. GREELY, 
1 L't 5 Cav., A. S. 0.,4- Ass't Com'd'g L. F. B. Exp'd. 

Official cojjy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(26.) 
[3579 Mis., 1883.] 

Fort Congee (Lady Franklin Bay), 

Grinnell Land, August 15th, 1881. 
To the Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir: I have the honor to make the following report regarding the progress of the 
International Polar Expedition, which I have the honor to command : 

Leaving St. John's, N. F., at noon, July 7th, the harbor of Godhavn, Greenland, was 
reached 9 p. m. July 16th. The voyage was made in the face of continuously adverse 
winds, experiencing two strong northerly gales and constant cloudy and foggy weather. 
The ship behaved admirably. The only ice seen south of Cape Farewell were a few 
icebergs off Funk Island, and about forty in 52° N. 53° 15 W. Pack ice was fallen in 
with at 10.30 p. m. July 12th, in 61° 30 N. 53° 30 W., and was left behind at 3 a. m. 
July 13th. A second pack was encountered the same day at 2.30 p. m., in 62° 30 N. 
53° 15 W. , and passed through in an hour. Neither pack offered any obstructions to 
free passage, or caused the slightest delay. They both consisted of ice floes (varying 
from one to eight feet above the water), which, coming from the east coast of Green- 
land, had drifted with the southerly current from Cape Farewell into Davis Strait. 
Not a dozen icebergs were seen in Greenland waters until Disco Bay was reached, 
when over a hundred were counted at one time. From Herr Krarup Smith, inspector 
of North Greenland, I learned that the past winter in Greenland (except a brief pe- 
riod of cold in March) had been one of marked and unusual mildness, and that the 
ice north of Upernavik had broken up very early. Delaying his vessel 15 hours on 
the expedition's account, he left the next day for an official inspection of Proven and 
Upernavik, assuring me of all possible aid and assistance from himself and all other 
officials. On July 20th Dr. Octave Pavy joined the expedition as acting assistant 
surgeon. 

At Godhavn twelve dpgs, a large quantity of dog food, and some sealskins .were 
procured. A considerable quantity of "mattak "(skin of the white whale, a very 
valuable antiscorbutic) and a few articles of fur clothing were obtained by barter, as 
they could not be bought for money. Hardbread and tobacco were principally given 
in exchange. Valuable assistance was given in this matter by the wife of Inspector 
Smith, and by Mr. Fleischer, chief trader and governor of Godhavn. The remains 
of the house purchased in 1880 was taken on board, as well as 3, 000 pounds of buffalo 
pemmican, placed at my disposal by H. W. Howgate, of Washington. Nine dogs, 
which were at Rittenbenk, were also bought of O. Pavy. A good set of observations 
for time was made July 19-20, at the only hours the sun shone during our stay at 
Godhavn. Leaving Godhavn the morning of the 21st, the vessel reached Ritten- 
benk the same forenoon. At that point were purchased a number of sealskins, a large 
quantity of dog food, and other minor articles, which had been accumulated for the 
expedition through the energj' of Dr. Pavy. The nine dogs before mentioned were 
taken on board. Mr. Henry Clay there joined the expedition, under the status of a 
signal service emijloy^. Being delayed by the fog, Lt. Lockwood was sent with a 
party to obtain birds from Awe Prins Island. He returned that evening with sixty- 
five guillemots (Alca Ama or Alca Brueunichi). It was said at Rittenbenk that the 
spring had been the most forward one for years. Leaving Rittenbenk 2.15 p. m. July 
22d, and running through the Waigat, the steamer was off Upernavik 9 j). m. July 23d, 
but owing to fog could not enter the harbor until the next morning. Two Esqui- 
maux, whom I had understood would accompany the expedition, were not available, 
and in consequence a trip to Proven, about 50 miles distant, was necessary to obtain 
others. Skin clothing could not be obtained, except ten suits, which had been made 
by order of the Danish Government for the use of the international polar station at 
Upernavik, of 1882-83, and were sold, through the kindness of Inspector Smith, 
to the expedition. A severe storm setting in prevented Lt. Lockwood (whom Mr. 
Elberg, chief trader at Upernavik, had offered to accompany to Proven) from start- 



APPENDIX. 27 

iug on the 24tli. On the morning of July 25th Lt. Lockwood left in the steam 
launch " Lady Greely" (which had been put into the water for the trip), taking a cir- 
cuitous route inside the islands, rendered necessary by bad weather. Lt. Lockwood 
returned early on the 28th, bringing for service with the expedition a native, Jans 
Edward, and a half-breed, Frederick Thorly Christiansen, who were contracted with 
that day. Lt. Lockwood also procured about a dozen suits of skin clothing, which, 
though second-hand, are very serviceable. He had killed 120 guillemots during his 
voyage. The launch behaved admirably, both as a sea boat and under steam. Lt. 
Kislingbury, by my orders, made two visits, July 24th and 25th, to the "loomery," 
near Sanderson's Hope, bringing back the first day three hundred and five birds, and 
on the latter one hundred fifteen, all guillemots (Alca Ama). Ten dogs (five of 
whom have since died of dog disease — must have been sick when sold to me) were 
procured from Mr. Elberg. Additional dog food, sledge fittings, dog-harness, and 
sealskins were also bought. It was through the marked interest and kindly influence of 
Inspector Smith (whom I found at Upernavik) that the expedition secured the services 
of the natives and obtained so fair a stock of needed articles. The meteorological 
records of the past winter show it to have been very mild and the spring very early. 
Inspector Smith told me that in fourteen years Upernavik has never been so green. 
Eeports from Tessi-ussak w^ere to the effect that the ice, breaking up very early 
w'as all gone. On the afternoon of July 29th the anchorage of Upernavik was left, 
and at 7 p. m., having run out the southern way, the vessel was distant three miles 
from Upernavik, just off the island to the west. Eunning northward a few hours 
the Middle Passage was taken, and at 7 a. m. July 31st the engines were stopped, 
as the dead reckoning placed the vessel only six miles south of Cape York, and dense 
fog prevented land from being seen. An hour later, the fog lifting a few minutes, 
showed, land about five miles distant. This experience of the " Middle Passage " may 
be fairly said to have been without parallel or precedent. The run of the English 
expedition of 1875-'76 from Upernavik to 45 miles south of Cape York in seventy hours 
is said to have been, unprecedented. Our passage by the same route, and to within 
five miles of Cape York, was made in thirty-six hours, half the time taken by the ex- 
pedition under Sir George Nares to run a less distance. Nothing in the shape of a 
pack was encountered in Baffin's Bay, 'but in about 75° 08' N. 63° 40' W. a pack was 
seen to the westward, whether open or compact was uncertain. A polar bear (Ursus 
maritimus) and a seal (phoca barbata) were killed on small detached floes in the 
" Middle Passage." July 31st, was lost through foggy weather, obliging the vessel to 
•' lay to." At 8.15 a. m. the fog lifting disclosed Petowik glacier near, to the north of 
which, in small patches of dirty reddish color, was seen the red snow among the 
" crimson cliffs " of Sir John Ross. Sighting the Carey Islands at 3.10 p. m. that day, 
two parties were landed on the southeast island at 5.45 p. ui. The party under Dr. 
Pavy obtained from the cairn on the summit the record left by Mr. Allen Young in 
1875 and 1876, which forms enclosures "A" and "B;" copies w^ ere left in the cairn and 
an additional record, enclusure " C." With Lt. Lockwood I found and examined the 
whale-boat and depot of provisions left by Sir George Nares in 1875, which were in good 
and serviceable condition. A record in the boat was taken away (enclosure " D "), 
but a copy of it and a new record (enclosure " C ") w^ere left in its place. At 12.30 
p. m. August 2d Littleton Island was reached. A personal and exhaustive search 
of seven hours was necessary to find the English mail, which in four boxes and three 
kegs have been forw'arded to you, in order that they may be returned to England. 
There was a very small cairn near the mail, but with no record. A record enclosure 
"H" was left by me. Lt. Lockwood with a party landed about 6| tons of coal, as a 
depot of fuel for possible future use. It is in and around a large cask, on low ground, 
on the southwest side of the island facing Cape Alexander. Lt. Kislingbury and Dr. 
Pavy, by my orders, visited Life Boat Cove to communicate with the Etah Eskimos 
and see the Polaris' winter quarters. Several photographs of the surroundings were 
taken by Sergt. Rice and a number of relics brought off, which will be forwarded to 
you. The transit instrument was found about 20 feet from the cairn. The Etah 
Eskimos have evidently quitted the place, as all traces were old, a year certainly, and 
probably two or three years. In searching on Littleton Island for the Nares' cairn 
about fifty small cairns (many evidently for game) were found, in two of which rec- 
ords from S. S. ''Erik,"Capt. Walker, June 20, 1876, were found, and form enclosures 
"E" and ''F." A cairn carefully built and wnth an aperture at the base, probably 
that of Sir Geo. Nares, was found open and empty. Lt. Lockwood, who later was 
sent to go over the ground a third tinae, concluded with me that the open cairn was 
that of Sir Geo. Nares. A record was made by Lt. Lockwood for deposit, but a mes- 
sage sent him when the English mail was found caused him to withdraw it, or he was 
erroneously informed that I had found the cairn sought for. It probably has been 
plundered, as a piece of London newspaper, " The Standard," was found by me in the 
snow on the west side of the island. It contains a notice of a lecture by Sir Geo. 
Nares in 1875. It forms enclosure "C." Some repairs to the wheel of the ship caused 
several hours' delay, but Littleton Island was left at 10.45 p. m. The weather being 



28 APPENDIX. 

A^ery fair and no ice visible, I did not dare to take time to examine tlie 240 ratious^- 
i\t Cape Sabine, but directed tlie captain to run direct for Cape Hawks. 

On August 3d Cape Sabine was x>assed at 1.50 a. ni., and Cape Camperdown at 
4.10 a. m. ; at 8.40 a. m. off Cape Hawks, and at 9.10 a. m. lay to about two miles 
north of it, between the mainland and Washington Irving Island. Sent two parties, 
under Lt. Lockwood and Dr. Pavy, to examine respectively the south and north end 
of Washington Irving Island. With Lt. Kislingbury, Mr. Clay, and a number of the 
men I proceeded to tlie main shore and examined the English depot of 187.5. The 
.iolly-boat was found in good condition, and being short of boats it was taken by me. 
I have named it the " Valorous," it having belonged to H. M. S. Valorous, connected 
with the Nares expedition. There was a large quantity of bread (some mouldy), 
two kegs of x^ickles, two partly full of rum, two barrels steariue, and a barrel of pre- 
served potatoes. A keg of picalilli (I having none in my stores'), one of the kegs of 
rum, were taken, and three cans potatoes, to test them and the method of cooking 
them. The remaining stores were placed by my party in a better condition to- re- 
sist the weather. Several i>hotographs of the surroundings were made by Sergt. 
Rice. Starting again at 11.10 a. m., and running out to the southward, Lt. Lock- 
wood's and Dr. Pavy's parties were picked up at 11.40 a. m. Lieut. Lockwood found 
in a cairn on the summit a record of Capt. Nares' deposited in 1875, and counter^ 
signed by him in 1876, which forms enclosure "T." A copy was left, together with 
a new record (end. " K.") Passed Cape Louis Napoleon 1.10 p. m., and Cape Frazer 
at 3 p. m. Washington Laud was fii'st sighted at 3.55 p. m. through openings in the 
fog which commenced setting in. Aboiit 5 p. m. the 80 parallel was crossed. At 
5.30 p. m. abreast of Cape Collinson, where 240 rations are cached, but which I dared not 
visit, fearing denser fog would set in and delay seriously our northward passage. At 
10 p. m., after running slow through a dense fog, it was necessary to stop until the 
next day (Aug. 4th), when, the fog clearing at 11.15 a. m, Franklin Sound was sighted 
about eight miles N. E. (true). It was passed at 11.45 a. m. At two p. m. the ship 
stopped in the N. E. end of Carl Ritter Bay, where I had decided to place a small 
depot of provisions in case of a retreat southward in 1883. About two hundred and 
twenty-five bread and meat rations were landed by a party under myself, which Lt. 
Kislingbury and Dr. Pavy accompanied. The depot was made on the first bench 
from the sea, just north of a little creek in the extreme N. E. part of the bay. About 
7.45 p. m., off Cape Lieber, a heavy pack against the laud was passed by a detour to 
the eastward, and at 9 p. m., Aiigust 4th, the vessel was stopped for the first time hy 
ice in the extreme S. E. part of Lady Franklin Bay, only eight miles from destina- 
tion. The pack was a very heavy one, and, running from Bape Caird northeastward 
in a semicircle, reached the Greenland coast (where it touched the land) just south 
of Offley Island, near the mouth of Peterman's Fjord. The pack consisted of thick 
polar ice, ranging from 20 to 50 feet in thickness, cemented together by harbor ice 
from two to five feet thick. It was impossible to do aught but wait. The vessel 
was tied to the iiack oft' Cape Baird and awaited a gale. On August 5th I went 
ashore at Cape Lieber, with Lt. Lockwood, Dr. Pavy, and party, to examine the 
ice from the cliffs. Lt. Lockwood erected a cairn on the highest peak. No other 
cairn could be seen on it or from it, nor on other peaks visited by Dr. Pavy and my- 
self. Occasional lanes of water could be seen through the sifts of the fog-cloud 
which covered Hall Basin, but the main pack was firm and nnf'hanged. 

On August 6th the pack moving slightly obliged the vessel to change its mooring 
place from time to time. August 7th the pack drove us out of Lady Franklin Bay, 
and during that day and the 8th we were gradually driven south. Probably twenty- 
five miles of ice in huge fields passed southward of us during those two days. Every 
opportunity was improved to steam around such fields to keep head against the 
southerly current. On the evening of Aug. 8 the steady north Avind had forced 
the whole pack down towards us, while the fields previously driven southward, 
packed fast together, formed a huge compact barrier stretching from Carl Ritter Bay 
across to Hans Island. But a mile or so of open water lemained. A nip appeared most 
probable, and preparatious were hastily made to unship screw and rudder. During 
the night matters improved somewhat, but during the 9th aud 10th we wej?e forced 
slowly southward to within about five miles of Hans Island, having lost about 45 
miles of latitude. About noon of the 10th the long-desired southwest gale set in. 
accompanied by snow, starting the pack northward. The snow cleared the next 
morning, but the gale fortunately continued. Open water was visible on the west 
coast as far northward as could be seen. At 7.30 a. m. we ran rapidly northward, 
and about 1 p. m. again passed Cape Lieber, and at 2.40 p. m. had crossed Lady 1 rank- 
in Bay. Either ice foot or pack ice jammed against the shore covered Water- 
course Bay, but a narrow lane permitted the vessel to enter Discovery Harbor just inside- 
Dutch Island, where harbor ice about 18 inches thick was found, covering the whole 
harbor as well as the western half of Lady Franklin Bay. The vessel forced her way 
about ^ mile through ice of the character above named, and then stopped pend- 
ing my decision as to the locality of the station. While Lieut. Lockwood was sent 



APPENDIX. 29 

to oX.amiue Watercourse Buy and tlie coal seam, I visited aloue the Discovery 
winter quarters, and found in a cairn t"\vo tin cases one labelled "records" and the 
other " general information." They form enclosure "L," "M," ''N," " O," "P" to 
this report. Lieut. Lockwood returning early morning August 18th, reported the 
phice an excellent one for camp, the bay partly clear, but shallow. He thought it . 
probable the vessel could come within about 200 yards of the shore. The bay, however, 
was of such shape that, while dischargiug. the vessel would be unprotected against 
ice, as it is exposed to all winds from N. E. to S. S. W. The coal was so located that it 
could be readily mined after ice forms, and could, if required, be hauled without dif- 
ficulty to Watercourse Bay or to Discoverj- Harbor. I reluctantly decided to settle 
at Discovery winter quarters, owing to the uncertainty that Avould attend unload- 
ing at such a place. It was fortunate that I so decided, for sending Dr. Pavy to 
ground overlooking Watercourse Bay on August 13th, he reported it full of pack ice. 
On the 12th, the vessel broke her w^ay through two miles of heavy ice and anchored 
oft" the cairn, about 100 yards from shore, at about 3 p. m. At 3.30 p. ni. the men were 
diviced into two gangs, to work day and night by four reliefs until the cargo was 
discharged. The general cargo was discharged in 60 hours — by 3.30 a. m. (to-day) 
August 14th. At this time coal is being landed, of which I have about 140 tons, 
enough to last two winters without mining any. Work on the house is progressing 
rapidly, though but three or four men can be spared at present for that work. The 
foundation had been linished, floor stringers laid, and about one-eighth of the fi-ame 
is now up. Fourteen musk oxen have been killed and enough meat is on hand for 
issue three times a Aveek for the coming seven months, besides ten days' rations of 
dried birds. The post has been named Fort Conger, in lionor of .Senator Conger, of 
Michigan. Anything of importance will be added as an appendix. Photographic 
views have been and will be taken once each day, from which you can best judge of 
the progress and condition of affairs. I feel it proper to here state that in my opin- 
ion a retreat from here southward to Cape Sabine, in case no vessel reaches us in 
1382 or 1883 will be safe and practicable, although all but the most important re- 
cords will necessarily ha^-e to be abandoned. Abstracts could and would be made 
of those left. 

I am, respectfullv, v'rs, 

A. W. GKEELY, 
1 Lt. o Cav., A. S. 0. and Ass't, Com'd'fj L. F. B. Exp'd'n. 

XoTE — The enclosures to the above communication Avere principally copies of the 
records left at the cairns by Sir George Nares' expedition. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Siqnal OtHcer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(27.) 

[3571 Miss., 1881.] 

[Circular letter.] 

Ft. Conger, L. F. B., Guinnell Land, 

August mth, 1881. 
■id Lt. F. F. K1SI.INGBURY, A. S. 0., 
•2d Lt. J. B. LOCKWOOD, A. S. 0., 
A. A. Surg. O. Paa^y, U. S. A. : 

It is my intention in 1883 to return Avith this expeditionary force to the United 
States. In case any officer wishes to apply for the command of the expedition in sub- 
sequent years, retaining command of sucla men as ai-e willing to remain and such le- 
<_'ruits as may join the coming j'ear, he is requested to so state in writing, in oi'dcr 
that such arrangements and requisitions may be made as to provide for the coutinu-" 
auce of the station. 

While such action could possibly be delayed until the coming year, it Avould be 
Aviser tlj^t the proposal for the continuance of the Avork should be submitted to and 
passed on by the War Department. 

A. W. GREELY, 
I Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. 0. and Asst. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer 



30 APPENDIX. 

[1st emlorsement.] 

Ft. Congek, L. F. B., Grinnell Land, 

Aug. 16, 1881. 
I find my self detailed as a member of and serving witlitliis expedition ; 'am devoted to 
the duties, and greatly interested in this part of the world, and eager to learn and dis- 
cover everything pertaining hereabouts and as far north as possible. As regards re- 
maining beyond 1883, I feel myself capable of being physically able to do so, and can 
only say that I hold myself ready to remain here so long as my Government desires 
me to do so. 

Eespectfnlly, 

FRED. F. KISLINGBUEY, 

2d Lt. 11 Inf. and A. S. 0. 
[2d endorsement.] 

Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Lajstd, 

Aug. 17th, 1881. 
Respectfully returned to Lieut. Greely, U. S. Army, commanding. 
I find myself unable to give a decided answer to this communication, tho' flattered 
by its receipt. 

The year '83 is too far in the future and there are too many contingencies to be con- 
sidered to make it advisable to be committed at this time in such a matter. 

J. B. LOCKWOOD, 

2d Lieut. 2M Inf., A. S. 0. 
[3d endorsement.] 

Lady Franklin Bay, 

Aug. 17 th, 1881. 
Respectfully returned to Lieut. Greely, U. S. Army, commanding. 
I entirely concur in the ideas expressed in the second endorsement. 

OCTAVE PAVY, 

A. A. S., U. S. A. 
[4th endorsement.] 

Ft. Conger, L. F. Bay, 

Aug. 17, 1881. 
Respectfully forwarded to the Chief Signal Officer, that he may express his wishes 
and intentions regarding this station's continuance beyond 1883. 

In case it is continued it would be but common justice that the officer immediately 
my junior, i. e., either Lt. Kislingbury or Lt. Lockwood, one of whom will then be a 
1st Lt., should be assigned to the command. Such a course I should strongly recom- 
mend. 

A. W. GREELY, 
1 Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. 0. and Ass' t, Com'd'g. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(28.) 
[3533 Mis., '81.] 

Ft. Conger, Grinnell Land, 

Aug. 17, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : The captain of the vessel coming to this station in 1882 should be provided 
with the following charts, which can be obtained from the Navy Department : Nos. 
235, 274, 276, 555, 787, 807, 2117, 2118, 2282, and 2382. , 

The following should be purchased: From 75° N. to 84° N., admiralty chart, Apr. 
20, 1875, corrected to July, '78 (later if can be had), sold by J. D. Potter, 31 Poultry 
and 11 King st., Iowa Hill, London. 
I am, resp'y, y'rs, 

A. W. GREELY, 
1 Lt. 5 Cav., A. S, 0. and Ass't, Com'd'g Exp'd'n. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 31 

(29.) 
[3580 Mis., 1881.] 

Ft. Conger, L. F. Bay, Grinnell Land, 

Aug. 17th, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to request that the Danish Government may he moved to 
direct that the following-named articles he prepared and ready, if practicahle, at 
Godhaven, for the use of this expedition in 1882, to he called for by the relief vessel 
of 1882 : 

Twenty-six (26) temiaks, large sizes. 

Forty-six (46) seal-skin pants, large sizes. 

Ten ( 10) sleeping bags, lined with dog skin, large enough for two men of large 

stature. 
Five hundred pounds " matak" — skin of white whale. 
One hundred fifty (150) coils of thongs for traces and lines. 
Ten (10) dogs (with 2 nio's' dog food, to last en route). 
Suitable seal skins for twenty dog harnesses. 

The order for these should be made from Copenhagen by the first vessel, and no 
time should be lost in arranging therefor. The first Danish ship leaving in March — 
early — reaches Godhaven about the first of May. If all cannot be obtained, as much 
as practicable should be made ready. 
I am, respectfully, yours, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1st Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. 0. and AssH, Com'd'g Expedition. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Chief Signal Officer.. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



[989 Mis., 1882.] 

Eoyal' Danish Legation, 
Washington, D. C, February ISth, 1882. 
General W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Office, U. S. A. : 
Sir : I am informed by the foreign office in Copenhagen that proper orders have 
been given by the Royal Directorate of the Greenland trade to have ready for the Lady 
Franklin Bay expedition the articles enumerated in your letter of December 5th, 1881, 
and to deliver them to the relief or supply vessel expected to reach Godhaven during 
Jiily this year. I am, however, instructed to state that the directorate entertains 
considerable doubts as to how far all the requested articles can be provided in the 
desired quantities. This is particularly the case as to matak (skin of white whale), 
which is only to be had at certain seasons of the year, is speedily consumed by the 
Greenlanders themselves, and is not very fit for being kept. The directorate has un- 
derstood the 26 "temiaks " required to be identical with " timials, " i. e., fur-coats of 
birds' skins. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

BILLE. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(30.) 

[3577 Mis., '81. J 

Ft. Conger, L. F. Bay, Grinnell Land, 

Aug. 17, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army: 

Si9 : I have the honor to herewith transmit copy map of Robeson's Channel and 
approaches, whereon is marked the course followed by the Proteus northward of" 



32 - APPENDIX 

the entrance to Smith's Sound ; also map of Discovery winter quarters. The house 
is located within fifty yards or so of the cairn, and runs N. and S. One hundred 
copies (lithographed) of these charts would be very useful, and I request they he fur- 
nished. 

I am, resp'y, y'r, 

A. W. GREELY, 
1 Li. 5 Cav., A, S. O. and Ass't. 
(Five inclosures.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(31.) 
[3573 Mis., 1881.] 

Ft. Conger, L. F. Bay, 

Aug. 18, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to report that the party remaining as the enlisted force at 
this place are all men well fitted for the, work and their relief, except on grounds of 
ill health or at personal request, is not recommended. Sgt. Gardiner is not always 
accurate, but is willing, and time with supervision Avill correct that fault. Private 
Ryan indulged too freely in drink at St. John's, but on the trip and here proves a most 
excellent, reliable, and hard-working man. 
I am, resp'y, y'rs, 

A. W. GREELY, 
1 Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. 0. and AssH Com''d'g Exp'd'n. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(32.) 
[3572 Mis., 1881.] 

Fort Conger, Grinnell Land, Lady Franklin Bay, 

August 18th, 1831. 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to report that the weather continues finp and the health of 
the men good. I have ordered Corporal Starr to return to Washington, as he has 
developed a tendency to asthma, which unfits him in the opinion of the doctor for 
hard work in the field, because possibly he might be attacked. The house is entirely 
framed and partly boarded. 

Everything perishable has been got under canvas. 

I hope to send the party northward to Cape Henry in a week or so. In view of Cor- 
poral Starr's relief it would be well to send six men instead of five men. 

The captain hopes to sail to-night, I having x^romised to stop coaling at 6 p. m., 
when I shall have about 140 long coal, enough with proper margin for two years and 
more. 

I am, respectfullv, vonrs, 

A. W. GREELY, 
Isf Lieut, bill Cav-., A. S. 0. and Ass't, Com'd'g L. F. B. Expedition. 

P. S. — 24 additional musk oxen have been seen. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Oifk^r: 
Nov. 9, 1883. 




S, EX,./^»_-, 1,48 




■U 











ARCTIC EXPEDITION, ia7J-6-. , 

H M.SHIPS ALERT *N0 DISCOVEftY 

CAPTA 1 NS G.5. MARES, F R S a mo H.V. 3TE PHE NSON.R.IS 



KStcde^JLcOa^Oe o,^xcLJi'S%.n 



DISCOVERY HARBOUR 

BY LlEUTENAINT R.H ARCHER. H.N- 



S. EX. -JJ>o._., 1, 48, 



,... 



APPENDIX. 33" 

(33.) 
[3012 Mis. '81.] 

[Telegram received, at 9, 12, 1881, 9.43 a. m., 8 N. Y., from St. John's, N. F,, 12th.] 

To Chief Signal Officer, 

Wash'n, D. C. : 

Entered Lady Franklin Bay one month from leaving St. John's. Obtained natives, 
skin clothing, and dogs at Godhaven, Ritenbenk, Upernivik, and Proven. 

Made most remarkable trip recorded from Upernivik, through middle passage to 
Cape York, in thirty-six hours. In six days and two hours from Upernivik, though 
delayed thirty-two hours by fog, entered Lady Franklin Bay, having meanwhile ex- 
amined English depot, Carey Island ; recovered entire English Arctic mail at Littleton 
Island; discovered transit instrument Polaris quarters Life Boat Cove; obtained rec- 
cord Washington Irving Island ; overhauled English depot Cape Hawks ; and landed 
depot at Carl Ritter Bay. Vessel never met pack worthy of name nor stopped by ice 
until inside Cape Lieber, Lady Franklin Bay, eight miles from destination, where de- 
layed one week, being forced back south of eightieth parallel. Entered Discovery 
Harbor August eleventh, where station is located. Watercourse Bay being impracti- 
cable for lauding. About hundred forty tons coal landed. Have killed here three 
full months, rations musk cattle. Weather fine, Building framed and being covered. 
Party all well. 

GEEELY, 
Lt., Commanding. 

Lady Franklin Bay, Ang. IStli, 1881. 

1.83 collect. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883, 



(34.) 
[3217 Mis., 1881.] 

The Proteus delayed by ice a few miles S. E. permits me to-day to report that one 
house is now covered, and it will be partly occupied to-morrow, Sunday. All well. 

A. W. GEEELY, Lt., ^c. 
L. F. B., Aug. 20. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(35.) 

[3220 Mis., 1881.] 

(Copy.) 

L. F. Bay, Aug. 25th, 1881. 
All stores under cover. Freezing weather commenced. Observatory under way. 
House entirely done except inside work, which can be done at leisure. Start a small 
party north and one into interior in few days. Ice in L. F. Bay has unfortunately not 
gone out at all this year, & so steam-launch is kept here. No snow on ground. Party 
all well. Proteus delayed by ice at entrance to harbor for days, although channel 
open outside. Since Starr and Eyan are gone, seven men should come next year. 
Lowest temp., 22C'.0 on 20th. 

A. W. GEEELY. 
Gen. W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, Washington, D. C, United States, 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 3 



34 APPENDIX. 

(36.) 
[Vol. 10, C. S. O., page 437.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
WasMngton, D. C, November- 25, 1881. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith coi^ies of communications from 1st Lieu- 
tenant A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting signal ofificer and assistant, commanding the 
. Lady Franklin Bay expedition, which I respectfully request may be transmitted to 
the honorable Secretary of the Navy for his information. 
I am, very respectfuUv, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, cj- Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Sigtial Officer, U. S. A. 
•{2 enclosures.) 

Note. — Enclosures were copies of 3657 and 3659 Mis., 1881. 



Oflicial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(37.) 



[Vol. 11, 0. C. S. O., pp. 26-27.1 

War Department, • 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Nov. 30, 1881. 
To the Adjutant-General, 

War Department. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose letter of Augt. 17th, 1881, from 1st Lieutenant A. 
W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting signal officer and assistant O. C. S. O., commanding 
esxjedition to Lady Franklin Bay, in the course of which letter he suggests the detail 
of five enlisted men, one of whom should be a Signal-Service sergeant, to be sent up 
with the expedition in the summer of 1882. 

Subsequent to the date of this letter (enclosure 1) Lieut. Greely was compelled to 
relieve two men, and he therefore will require seven, one of whom should be a Signal- 
Service sergeant. The remaining six he asks may be detailed from the Army, from 
volunteers. Of the six he named Sergeant Braiul, 2d Cavalry, Sergeant Hamburg, 
Company E, 10th Infantry, as proper men, if they continue physically and morally fit 
for the detail. 

I have the honor to ask that the General of the Army call for such reports or volun- 
teer offers as shall enable these places to be supplied by well instructed and hardy 
men, who have had some sea experience, possessed of some degree of mechanical skill, 
and accustomed from the nature of their service to sevei'e winters of the northwest. 
They will be required for three years' Arctic service. These men will not be needed 
until early in June, 1882, by which time they should reach this city. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. 4' Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer; U. S. A. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(38.) 

[Vol. 11, O. C. S. O., pp. 68-69.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. 2, 1881. 
The honorable the Secretary op War : 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a letter i-eceived from Lieut. 
A. W. Greely, acting signal officer and assistant 0. C. S. O., commanding expedition 
to Lady Franklin Bay, under an act of Congress approved May 1st, 1880, and assigned 
by General Orders No. 35, Adjutant General's Office, 1881, in which he estimates that 



APPENDIX. 35 

the sum of $33,000 — 113,000 of which should be immediately availahle — will be needed 
for the support of his expedition for the next fiscal year. 

As I entirely approve of the sum named, and believe it to be essential to th^^sup- 
port of the expedition in those distant regions, and regard it as incumbent upon the 
government to make proper provision for the safety, support, and relief of that party 
by sending a vessel to them about the 1st of July next. I earnestly recommend that 
this paper be referred through the proper channels, recommended to the favorable 
action of Congress, and that the amount, $25,000, estimated for in my annual esti- 
mates, be replaced by the amount named herein. As the expedition should sail not 
later than the 1st of July next, the importance of appropriating the $13,000 of the 
sum required to be available immediately upon the passage of the act will, in view of 
the fact that the amount approj)riated for the current fiscal year has been entirely ex- 
pended, be too apparently necessary to require any extended recommendation. It will 
be observed that at the date of my former estimate, the enclosed letter from Lieut. 
Oreely had not been received. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S, A. 
Official'copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(39.) 
[Vol. 11, 0. C. S. 0., p. 95.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. Zd, 1881. 
"To the Surgeon-General, U. S. Army : 

Sir : Referring to your endorsement of the 30th ult. on Lieut. A. W. Greely's request 
to be furnished with certain publications of your Department, forwarded by this 
office, asking to be informed at what time it is proposed to send supplies to Lady 
Franklin Bay, and stating that a package of the publications requested will be pre- 
pared for transmission to that point, I have the honor to inform you that the nefxt 
party for Lady Franklin Bay will go up about the 1st of July next. 

The vessel is not yet chartered for the purpose, and it is x^roposed to give due notice, 
2)efore she is ready, of the date of sailing. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U, S. A. 

Official copv from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Office)\ 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(40.) 
[Vol. 11, 0. C. S. O., p. 103 and 104.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. bth, 1881. 
Mr. James Beetle, 

JSfeiv Bedford, Mass. : 
Sir: Please build for this office, for use of the expedition of explorations and obser- 
vations in the Arctic seas, 2 whale-boats, with sail, to have 12 spare 14-ft. oars, made 
■ especially light and strong. 

You will please notify office when done, which must be before next June. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

' W. B. HAZEN, 

Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, TJ. S. A. 
Lady Franklin Bay. 

Official COPV from the records of the Signal Office. 

^' W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov, 9, 1883. 



36 APPENDIX. 

(41.) 
[Vol. 11, O. C. S. O., pp. 101, 102, and 103.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. 5, 1881. 
Messrs. Browning Bros., 

St. John's, Neiofoundland : 
Gentlemen : You are invited to make proposals to furnisli this office, for the use 
of the expedition of exploration and observation in the Arctic seas, the following 
described supplies : 

5 doz. cloth gloves, well made, good material, Nos. 9, 10, and 11. 
50 yards heavy red flannel. 

40 pairs drawers (made up), to be made of blanketing costing about forty (40) or 
fifty (50) cents per yard, and to be tAvo largest sizes. 

6 doz. towels, good strong material and fair size. 
300 cans lobster. 

10 lbs. resin. 

144 cans salmon, 2-lb. cans. 
■J cord birch fire-wood (split, but not sawed). 
3 M feet boards, 1" kiln-dried, well dressed, 14 ft. 
1-J M " " flooring, 14 feet. 
1^ M " " &esi pme, for repairing boats. 

2i M " " scantling (1 M "2x4," 1 M "2x6," and i M "2x8") kiln-dried, 
well dressed. 
200 yards canvas, suitable for light sails. 

5 packages copper nails (1 1", 2 1|", and 2 2"). 
432 boxes matches, wax, in tin boxes. 

1,000 bricks. 

6 pails, galvanized iron. 
2 bbls. cement. 

240 fathoms rope, 1.5 (120 f.) and 2.5 (120 f.) inches. 
100 lbs. tow, pitched. 

2 gross screws, assorted. 

3 balls sailmaker's twine. 

All to be ready and to be paid for next summer, after appropriations shall have 
been made for same, when the relief steamer may leave for Lady Franklin Bay. 

None but good articles will be considered, and payment not made for same until 
they have been inspected and accepted by some one designated by this office. 
I am, very resjiectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Above letter also sent to Messrs. J. & W. Stewart, St. John's, Newfound- 
land; Mr. C. F. Bennett, St. John's, Newfouudland ; Messrs. Munn & Co., Harbor 
Grace, Newfoundland ; Messrs. Grieve & Co., St. John's, Newfoundland. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



(42.) 
[Vol. 11, O. C. S. O., pp. 100, 101.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, D. C, Dec. bth, 1881. 
Air. J. DE Hegermann Lindencrone, 

Danish Minister, Washington,''^). C. : 
Sir: I have the honor to request that your Government may kindly direct that the 
following named articles be prepared and ready, if practicable, at Godhaven, Green- 
land, for the use of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition, commanded by Lieut. A. W. 
G;eely, 5th Cavalry, and acting signal officer, U. S. Army, to be called for by the re- 
lief or supply vessel, which will probably reach Godhaven during July, 1882: 
26 Temiaks, largest sizes. 



APPENDIX. 37 

46 sealskin pants, largest sizes. 

10 sleeping bags, lined with, dog-skin, large enough, for two men of large stature. 
500 pounds " matak " skin of white whale. 
150 coils of thongs, for traces and lines. * 

10 dogs, with two (2) months' dog food to last en route. 
Suitable sealskin for 20 dog harness. 

The order for these should be made from Copenhagen by the first vessel. 
It is important that no time should be lost in arranging therefor, as it is understood 
the first Danish ship leaves early in March, reaching Godhaven about the first of May. 
If all of the above-mentioned articles cannot be obtained, as much as may be practi- 
cable should be made ready. 

Payment to be made at this office by prompt remittances on presentation of bill 
with, evidence certified thereon that the supplies have been delivered as requested. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(43.) 
[Vol. 11, 0. C. S. O., pp. 98, 99, 100-1 

War Department, 
Office op the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. bth, 1881. 
Mr. F. N. MoLLOY, 

United States Consul, Si. John's, N. F. : 
Sir: This office is about to invite proposals for certain supplies to go by the relief 
boat next summer to Lady Franklin Bay, for the continuance of the explorations in 
the Arctic seas, and desires to obtain your aid in securing good quality. 

The proposals will come from parties at St. John's, and probably one from Harbor 
Grace. It is proposed to have the stores delivered at St. John's. 

It will be necessary for some one to inspect and pass upon them before the office 
makes payment, and it is requested if you will kindly look after the matter, that you 
will please signify your willingness to do so, that the office may feel at liberty to com- 
municate you proper information at the necessary time. 

Please find enclosed fo];' your information letter to United States consul, Stockholm, 
Sweden. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

End. was a copy of the following letter : 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. bth, 1881. 
United States Consul, 

Stockholm, Siveden : 
Sir: I have the honor to request that you please order for this office to send to Lady 
Franklin Bay for expedition of exploration and making observations in the Arctic 
seas, 300 2-lb. cans preserved mulberries, causing them to be addressed to the Chief 
Signal Officer, U. S. Army, and contents marked on outside of packages and the words 
for " Lady Franklin Bay," care of thelJ. S. consul at St. John's, Newfoundland, which 
point they must reach early in June next. 

The office is informed that they cau be had only in Sweden, hence the necessity for 
the request, with which please give compliance and greatly oblige. 

The bill for same should be forwarded to the U. S. consul, St. John's, Newfound- 
land, for certificate of receipt of goods there by him, and transmitted to the office for 
settlement. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officei; U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



38 



APPENDIX. 



COKEESPONDENOE RELATING TO LADY FEANKLIN BAY EELIEF EX 

PEDITION OP 1882. 

t> 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal, Officer, 

Washington City, November 9, 1883". 
Maj. Henry Goodfeixow, 

Judge Jdvocate, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir : I have the honor to send herewith, with the list of incloeures attached, the 
principal correspondence relating to the Lady Franklin Bay relief expedition otl;1882. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen., Chiej Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



(44.) 



Letters sent. 






^^etters received. 




Book. 


Vol. 


Page. 


Address. 


No. 


Book. 


Tear. 


Who from. 


C.S.O ... 


16 


249, 250 


Secretary of War.- 


2423 


Mis .... 


1882 


Secretary of War- 




C.S.0 ... 


16 


169, 170 


Wm. M. Beebe. 


2658 


Mis 


1882 


T. if. Mollov. 




C.S.O... 


16 


264 


Chief Signal Office. 


2653 


Mis 


1882 


Wm. M. Beebe. 




C.S.'O ... 


16 


268 


Wm. M. Beebe. 


2900 


Mis 


1882 


S. Dana Greene. 




Mis 


16 


320 


Do. 


2914 


Mis . - . 


1882 


Thos. TSr. MoUoy. 




C.S.0-.. 


16 


267 


Com'd'r S. D. Greene. 


2853 


Mis .--. 


1882 


Wm. M. Beebe. 




C.S.O... 


16 


453, 454 


Secretary of War. 


2848 


Mis 


1882 


W. B. Hazen. 




C.S.O... 


17 


139 


Do. 


3268 


Mis 


1882 


Wm. M. Beebe. 




C.S.O ... 


17 


170 


Do. 


3361 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C. S. . . . 


16 


436-439 


Do. 


3464 


Mis -- 


1882 


Do. 




C. S. . . - 


17 


530 


Ad j utant-Gener al. 


3848 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




Mia 


16 


368 


Capt. Wm. H. Clapp. 


3248 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.0 ... 


17 


310 


Wm. M. Beebe. 


3285 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




Mis 


16 


371 


Lieut. A. W. Greely. 


5035 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




Mis 


16 


368 


Do. 


5416 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.0... 


17 


305 


Adjutant-General. 


5177 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.O ... 


17 


357 


General Terry. 


2901 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.0-.. 


17 


357 


Wm. M. Beebe. 


3786 


Mis .--. 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.O -.. 


17 


413 


Quarterm aster- G eneral. 


5296 


Mia 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.O.-- 


17 


432 


Wm. M. Beebe. 


5667 


Mis 


1882 


Do. 




C. S.0 ... 


16 


171, 172 


Secretary of War. 


5379 


Mis .... 


1882 


Do. 




C.S.O ... 


17 


120 


Colonel H. C. Hodges. 












C.S.0... 


17 


121 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












C.S.O..- 


17 


243 


Do. 












C. S. . . . 


17 


326 


Capt. W. H. Clapp. 












C.S.0-.. 


17 


333 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












C.S.O... 


17 


356 


Capt. Wm. H. Clapp. 












Mis 


16 


373 


Do. 












C.S.0 ..- 


17 


377 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












Mis 


16 


378 


Capt. Wm. H. Clapp. 












C.S.O .-- 


20 


109 


Com. John T. Walker. 












C.S.O... 


20 


109 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












C.S.O... 


20 


114 


Do. 












C.S.O... 


20 


327 


Thos. M. Molloy. 












C.S.O .-- 


21 


411 


Secretary of War. 












C.S.0... 


17 


137 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












Mis 


16 


301 


Do. 












C.S.O ... 


17 


281 


Dr. F. H. Hoardley. 












Mis 


16 


372 


Do. 












C.S.O ... 


20 


371-374 


Secretary of War. 












C.S.O... 


20 


317 


Do. 












C.S.O... 


17 


431 


Wm. M. Beebe. 












C.S.O ... 


IT 


436 


Lieut. A. W. Greely. 












Mis 


16 


330 


Do. 












Mia 


16 


359 


Do. 













ORDERS 



No. 



S. O. 53 . 
S. 0. 139 
S. O. 140 



Par. 



Date. 



May 6 
June 16 
June 17 



O. C. S. O. 
A. G. O. 
A. G. O. 



APPENDIX. 39 

(45.) 
[Special Orders No. 53.] 

Wak Departjient, 
Office of the Chief Signax Officer, 

Washington, May 6, 1882, 

1. A Board of officers to consist of — 

Captain William H. Clapp, 16tli Infantry, Acting Signal Officer, 

Ist Lieutenant William E. Birkheimer, 3d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer, 

2d Lieutenant Joseph S. Powell, Signal Corps, U. S. A., Assistant, 
is appointed to meet at this office to-day to consider the whole subject of the supply 
expeditions for Point Barrow, Alaska, and Lady Franklin Bay. 

The Board will carefully study all the papers bearing upon the subject, learn the 
time the different stores must be shipped from places of piirchase to arrive at jjlaces 
of shipment, with ample margin of time, the time and frequency of transit to St. 
John's, New Foundland, and in fact the entire problem of these expeditions, in order 
that they may be timely and certain. 

The need of sending and when to send, to engage boats, and whatever else requiring 
timely action will be at once considered and rej)orted. 

The Board will meet daily until they have completed the work relating to the relief 
expeditions. 

The junior member will act as recorder. 

2. 1st Class Private John A. Guzman, Signal Corps, U. S. Army, will, on receipt of 
this order, be relieved from duty at Atlantic City, New Jersey, and proceed without 
delay to Delaware Breakwater, Delaware, and report for duty to Ist^ Class Private 
August Schneider, Signal Corps, U. S. Army (in charge of station), reporting imme- 
diately upon his arrival by mail to the Chief Signal Officer. 

This change of station will be made without expense to the United States for trans- 
portation. 
It is impracticable for this soldier to carry cooked rations. 

3. 1st Class Private George W. Koonce, Signal Corps, U. S. Army, will, on receipt 
of this order, be relieved from duty at Delaware Breakwater, Delaware, and proceed 
without delay to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and report for duty to Sergeant James 
M. Watson, Signal Corps, U. S. Army (in charge of station), reporting immediately 
upon his arrival by mail to the Chief Signal Officer. 

This change of station will be made without expense to the United States for trans- 
portation. 

It is impracticable for this soldier to carry cooked rations. 

4. 2d Class Private Joseph Palmarts, Signal Corps, U. S. Army, will report in per- 
son, without delay, to the Chief Signal Officer for duty in this office. 

JAMES W. POWELL, Jr., 
Captain 6th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Offlcei: 
Official: 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieutenant, 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



(46.) 

[Vol. 16, L. S., pp. 171 and 172.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 8, 1882. 
To the Honorable the Secretary of Wab : 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith requisition in duplicate for quartermas- 
ter, subsistence, and medical stores for the use of the officers and enlisted men sta- 
tioned at Lady Franklin Bay and at Point Barrow, Alaska. 

These requisitions comprise only such stores as are usually issued to troops, and are 
based upon the actual needs of the expeditions, having in view the uncertainty of 
being able to reach these stations each year, and also the greater needs of men in that 
climate. They have been requested by the commanding officers of these expeditions 
since their arrival at stations. The subsistence stores will be accounted for as sold to 



40 APPENDIX. 

officers and enlisted men, and the clothing as usual in cases of issue. I respectfully 
request that these requisitions may receive immediate approval, and that orders may 
issue to the proper officers to have the stores, those for Point Barrow, Alaska, at San 
Francisco, Cal., and those for Lady Franklin Bay at New York City, in readiness for 
shipment not later than June 1.5, 1882. 

The supplies for Point Barrow should be invoiced to 1st Lieut, P. H. Ray, 8th In- 
fantry, and those for Lady Franklin Bay to 1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry. 
I am, A'^ery respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — The necessary data to have duplicates made of the enclosures are on file in 
Caj)t. Clapp's office. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN. 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(47.) 

[2423 Mis., 1882.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 8, 1882. 
To the Honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : It is imperative that an agent be sent at once to St. John's, Newfoundland, to 
charter a steamer of proper character, and employ an ice-master, to be ready July 
1st, to proceed to Lady Franklin Bay, with the outfit for Lieut. Greely's Expedition. 
He must then proceed to Greenland to secure the supplies called for by Lieut. Greely, 
that can be had nowhere else. Having secured these stores, and seen their deposition 
upon the steamer on her arrival, he should return to this city. There ought to be no 
delay, on account of shortness of time there is left for preparation. 

I desire to send Mr. Wm. M. Beebe, now a private in general service — my private 
secretary. He was an officer of merit on my stafi^ in the war. 

The Secretary of the Navy kindly sent an officer — Lieut. Merry — last year to inspect 
the steamer at St. John's. If he would also cause this service to be performed this 
year, it would be highly appreciated. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Major Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

[1st indorsement. J 

War Department, May 10, 1882. 
Approved, but no contracts can be entered into until Congress shall have given an 
appropriation for the purpose. 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Se(^Vy of War. 

[ In closure. ] 

May 10, 1882. 
Sir : Having to-day approved a request of the Chief Signal Officer that an agent be 
sent at once to St. John's, Newfoundland, whose duty it will be, whenever appropriation, 
shall be made, to charter a steamer of proper character to be ready July 1st, to pro- 
ceed to Lady Franklin Bay with the fresh supplies for Lieut. Greely's expedition, I 
have the honor to request that an officer of the Navy be ordered to St. John's to assist 
in selecting a suitable vessel at as early a date as convenient. 
A similar order was issued by the Navy Department last year. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
The Honorable the Secretary of the Navy. 



APPENDIX. 41 

[2453— Mis— 1882.] 

Navy Department, 
Bureau of Navigation and Office of Detail, 

Washington, May 13, 1882. 
Sir: Proceed to St. John's, Newfoundland, and also to Havre de Grace, Newfound- 
land, if you should find it necessary, for special duty, in selecting a steam sealer, 
under the instructions which will be issued to yon by the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army, and when completed, return to Washington and resume your present duties. 
By direction of the Secretary. 
Respectfully, 

J. G. Walker, 
Chief of Bureau. 
Commander S. Dana Greene, 

U. S. Navy, Washington, D. C. 
Delivered May 13, 18S2. 

Thos. Scott Fillebrown, Capt. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Ge7i'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
<Nov. 9, 1883.) 



(48.) 
[Vol. 16, L. S., pp. 159 and 170.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May, 8, 1882. 
ToWm. M. Beebe: 

Sir : You will proceed to St. John's, Newfoundland, and charter a vessel for the re- 
lief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay. The vessel must be a staunch steam whaler, 
well fitted for service in Arctic seas, thoroughly bound in all respects, and ready to 
depart upon the voyage from St. John's, Newfoundland, not later than July 1st, prox., 
at which date her pay will commence. 

The vessel chartered last year was the steam whaler Proteus, owned by Messrs. J. 
& W. Stewart, of St. John's. Memoranda regarding her charter, &c., will accompany 
this letter. You will make the best terms possible, having in view the character of 
the service to be performed, and the necessity of reaching Lady Franklin Bay. The 
«hip should be equal in character and strength to the Proteus. In drawing the con- 
tract you will see that its terms are explicit, and that it is in legal form. You will 
endeavor to employ a thoroughly competent ice-master to accompany the relief ship, 
and it is imperative that he be a man of character and experience. He can be con- 
tracted with at such rates as you may find necessary — probably about $75 per month.' 
His services will commence when the vessel is ready to leave St. John's. Having 
attended to this, you will proceed as speedily as possible to the Greenland settle- 
ments, or such of them as you find necessary, for the purpose of procuring certain 
articles of Arctic clothing, and also dogs and dog food. It is presumed that you can 
■obtatu information at St. John's as to where it is most probable these stores can be 
had, with other iuformation regarding the best course to be pursued. You will en- 
deavor to have the dogs and stores collected at Godhaven or Upernavik in readiness 
for shipment on the steamer by the time of her arrival, early in July, and especial 
diligence must be exercised to prevent failure. 

Having seen these stores shipped, you will return to your station. 
I am, very respectfully, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — A copy of this was sent by mail to Mr. MoUoy, U. S. Consul, St. John's, and 
a copy also by hand of letter to Mr. Molloy, and end. of Mr. W. M. Beebe. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. *, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
ITov. 9, '83. * 



42 APPENDIX. 

(49.) 
[Vol. 16, L. S., pp. 249 and 250.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 12, 1882. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to invite attention to the fact that nnder the law of Marcb 
3, 1881, an expedition was last year sent to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, for 
"observation and exploration in the Arctic seas ; for continning the work of scientific 
observation and exploration on or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay," &c., and 
with the understanding that the party wonld be left at that isolated station, to be 
visited year by year, whenever the state of navigation rendered it possible, nntil 
finally recalled. 

In fulfillment of tMs understanding, it is necessary that a vessel should be dispatched 
with men and supplies not later than July 1 next. 

I have the honor to ask that, to enable me to carry on this understanding, the Presi- 
dent be asked, if in his judgment the circumstances demand it, to call the special 
attention of Congress to the fact that unless an appropriation is speedily made for 
this purpose not later than June 1, it will be impossible either to purchase the neces- 
sary supplies or to engage a suitable vessel to transport them. 

Sections 3679 and 3732 Revised Statutes forbid the execution of any contracts in 
advance of specific appropriation acts. 

The safety of the officers and men who have voluntarily gone to these inhospitable^ 
and inaccessible regions may be jeopardized by delay to grant the necessary funds. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. W. POWELL, 
Captain Gth Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

Ofi&cial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A, 
(Nov. 9, 1883.) 



(50.) 
[Vol. le, L. S., p, 264. J 

(Telegram.) 

Washington, May 12, 1882. 
To General Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, Saint Louis. 
(If not there forward him. ) 

Secretary of War is emphatic that no contracts be made for relief expedition until 
appropriation bill has passed. Beebe leaves next Tuesday on first steamer. 

POWELL, 

• Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A.. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(51.) 
[2436— Mis.— 1882— Vol. 16, L. S., p. 268.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 13, 1882. 
William M. Beebe, General Service, U. S. A., Washington, D. C, 

Sir: In making contracts for the hire of a vessel at S.t John's, Newfoundland, to- 
take men and stores to Lieut. Greely's expedition at Lady Franklin Bay, they are to be 
binding only in case Congress makes the appropriation, which is certain. 

Arrangements must go on, however, the need to aid Greely being above all techni- 
calities. 
Report by telegraph the terms and name of vessel, and do not actually sign the 



APPENDIX. 43; 

contracts tintil yon receive reply to your telegram, unless they are provisional, that 
is, dependent upon appropriations by Congress, if you can do so without delaying 
your departure for Greenland ; otherwise sign the provisional contracts as above. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMES W. POWELL, 
Captain 6th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Offlcer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(52.) 

[Vol. 16, Mis., p. 320.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, May 13, 1882. 
Mr. Wm. M. Beebe, Genereii Service, U. S. A., Washington, D. C: ' 

Sir : I am instructed by the Chief Signal Officer to direct that you will make no pro- 
visional or other contract for the charter of any vessel, etc., which is not named to 
you by Commander S. D. Green, U. S. Navy, as suitable for the i^urpose, and you will 
please confer with him, and be governed by his judgment in everything affecting the 
suitability of the vessel for the work. 
Very respectfully, yours, 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Note.— Press copy of above sent to Com'd'r S. D. Green, 1800 "F" street N. W..^ 
Washington, D. C, same date. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Nov. 9, '83. Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A, 



(53.) 
[Vol. 16, L. S., p. 267.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 13, 1882. 
Commander S. D. Greene, U. S. Navy, 1800 H Street N. W., Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : The following instructions are hereby furnished for your guidance in the per- 
formance of the duties to which you have been ordered by the Secretary of the- 
Navy : 

On arriving at St. John's, N. F., please examine the steam sealers or whalers in that 
port, with reference to selecting a suitable vessel for carrying supplies through Baf- 
fin's Bay to the party under Lieutenant Greely, now stationed at Lady Franklin Bay. 
Upon you will devolve the responsibility of selecting a steamer that will be suited in 
every way for the duty designed for her by the War Department. 
Your duty in St. Johns will cease when you have selected a proper vessel. 
In the event that Congress shall 'not have passed an appropriation for the charter,, 
it will be necessary that you should name several suitable vessels, if possible, in the 
relative order of merit, to prevent sending another officer, if the signing of the con- 
tract should be delayed. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. W. POWELL, 
Captain 6th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

Note. — Press copy of letter to Maj. Beebe, signed by Lieut. Caziarc on the 13th 
May, sent to Comd'r Greene with this letter. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer.. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



44 APPENDIX. 

(54.) 
[2658—0. C. S. O., Mis.— 1882. J 

United States Consulate, 

St. John's, N. F., May 19, '82. 

Gen'l W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, Washington, D. C: 

Sir : I beg to own receipt of yovirs May 8th, introducing W. M. Beebee, in connection 
Tvith the Lady Franklin Bay expedition, who has not yet put in an appearance. Two 
•of the whaling iieet have left for the west coast of Greenland, others following Mon- 
day and Tuesday next. Fear Mr. Beebee, if going by either of those vessels, will be 
late, as the S. S. " Artie " is so damaged must proceed to Dundee to dock for repairs; 
BO dock available here. By this mail from England have received advices from the 
U. S. C. of Stockholm of having shipped 139 packages of mullberries for the Lady 
F];ankliu Bay expedition. 

Several sealing steamers have returned disabled; weather extremely boisterous, and 
the coast having been so completely blockaded were not able to penetrate to the usual 
proper sealing ground. The result is now pretty well known, which will about yield 
^ of the sealing voyage for past years. 

All the iieet will have to go under repairs. I think the:ge will be some difficulty in 
chartering this season, as only two are fit or available at present, and these would have 
to proceed to Cape Breton and be docked before going on any voyage. The time is 
getting short; as there is always some detention at Sydney, it may take 2 or 3 weeks 
to wait for their turn of docking there. 
I am, d'r sir, yours, &g. 

T. N. MILLOY, U. S. C. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN. 

Chief Signal O^ce. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



(55.) 
[Vol. 16, Mis., page 330.] 

War Department, O. C. S. O., 

Washington, May 19, 1882. 
1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, 

Acting Signal Officer, and Assist., Commanding expedition to L. F. Bay : 
Sir: I am instructed by the Chief Signal Officer to inclose herewith Part II of the 
Bulletin of the International Polar Com'n. and to inform you that you will find therein, 
on pp. 47-54, the most recent instructions that have been prepared for the use of the 
international Polar stations. It is believed that the instructions already given you in 
G. O. 72 of 1881, cover everything herein provided for, but you will carefully examine 
these new instructions to assure yourself that your work is conducted in conformity 
therewith. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 
1 inclosure. 

Note. — A similar communication to the above was sent this day to Lieut. P. H. 
Uay, 8th Infantry, commanding expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



No. 20. 

PROGRAMME FOR THE INTERNATIONAL POLAR EXPEDITIONS. 

The object of Weyprecht's scheme of simultaneous international Polar expeditions 
is the investigation of the general physical conditions, but especially of the meteoro- 
logical and magnetical phenomena of the Polar area, and of the regions in its immedi- 



APPENDIX. 45 

ate vicinity, on a common plan which shall have been adopted by international 
agreement. 

The observations are to be made at fixed observatories, in order to increase their 
certainty ; they are to be at least hourly and to cover an entire year, so as to exhibit the 
diurnal and annual periods of the phenomena; they are to be conducted on a uniform 
plan, to insure comparability ; they are also to be simultaneous, i. e., made in the same 
year and partly at the same absolute moments of time, so as to furnish materials for 
tracing the motion of disturbances. 

They are finally to be carried out at as many and as uniformly distributed points 
as is possible, in order to throw light on the distribution of disturbances and to elim- 
inate their influence on the mean results. 

The observation of phenomena relating to meteorology and terrestrial magnetism 
must be placed in the first line, because it is in these departments that the key of the 
solution of many problems must be sought in the Polar regions. The Conference has 
divided the observations into " necessary " and "optional," in order to avoid the dan- 
ger of probable division of powers which might injure the object of the whole of the 
operations in the case of expeditions only scantily supplied with instruments and ob- 
servers. Uuder the class ' ' necessary observations " only those are included which are 
to be considered as the minimum to be required from all expeditions, because if any 
of these were omitted serious lacuna would appear in the entire system of observa- 
tions, and would endanger the deduction of general results. 

" The following is the programnie which has been adopted at the Conference at St. 
Petersburg for the observations to be made at the international Polar stations and 
for their first preliminary discussion : 

I. — Necessary Observations. 

a. — Beginning and ending of the observations. 

§ 1. The international Polar stations are to begin their observations as soon as pos- 
sible after the 1st August, 1882, and end them as late as possible before 1st September,, 

1883. 

Z>. — Times of oiservaiion. 

§ 2. The hourly magnetical and meteorological observations may be made accord- 
ing to any time, only the magnetical observations on the term days must always bfr 
made according to Gottingen time (mean civil time). The term days are always the 
Ist and the 15th of every month, except January, where the 2nd is to be taken as the 
term day instead of the 1st. 

c. — Order of the observations. 

§ 3. The expeditions are free to choose the order of their observations as they think 
fit. 

d. — Meteorological observations. 

§ 4. Air. Temperature. The mercurial thermometers should be read to 0.1° C.^ 
the spirit thermometers to at least 0.5° C. 

§ 5. The thermometers should be verified at the central meteorological offices, and 
the spirit thermometers, besides, are to be compared with a mercurial thermometer 
at the place of observation at as low temperature as possible. The zero point of all 
thermometers used in the observations is to be determined afresh from time to time. 

§ 6. The thermometers are to be placed at a height of at least 1^ to 2 metres above 
the ground, in a screen like that given by Wild, ai.d which will secure that without 
excessive interference with the free circulation of the air about them they will be 
sheltered from all disturbing influences of radiation. 

§ 7. The minimum thermometer for the determination of air temperature must be 
placed under the same conditions as the other thermometers. 

§ 8. The temperature of the sea on the surface, and at the depth of every 10 metres,, 
is to be observed wherever possible. The following are suggested as useful instru- 
ments for this purpose: Sluggish thermometers by Eckmann, Negretti & Zambra, 
Miller- Casella, &c. 

§ 9. Pressure. Every station must at least have a standard mercurial barometer 
and a good observing mercurial-barometer, besides reserve barometers and aneroids. 

§ 10. The barometers must be verified by a Central Meteorological OfiQce, and the 
observing barometer must be compared at least every week once with the standard, 
barometer. 



46 APPENDIX. 

§ 11. Humidity. The psyclircnneter and the hair hygrometer are to be used, bnt 
at low temperatures they must be compared as often as possible with instruments for 
for direct observation. 

§ 12. Wind. The vane and Robinson's anemometer should be arranged to be read 
off inside the observatory (vide the arrangement of the Swedish instruments at Spitz- 
bergen). The direction of the wind is to be given for every 16 points and according 
to true bearings. Its velocity should always be given according to Robinson's anemo- 
meter, and also estimated Beaufort's scale. As a reserve instrument for measuring 
the wind-force, in case of injury to Robinson's anemometer, Hagemanu'e anemometer 
recommends itself as being simple in management and very strong. 

<5 13. Clouds. Form, amount, and direction of motion at various heights are to be 
•observed to 16 points. 

§ 14. Rainfall, etc. Occurrence and duration of rain, snow, Graupel (soft hail) are 
to be noted, and, when possible, the amount. 

^^ 15. Weather. Thunder-storms, hail, fog, hoarfrost, and optical phenomena are 
also to be noted. 

e. — Observations of terrestrial magnetism. 

ABSOLUTE MEASUREMENTS. 

^ 16. In determination of absolute declination and inclination the accuracy of one 
minute is to be aimed at, and in those of the absolute horizontal intensity accuracy 
of 0.001 of its value. 

§ 17. It is decidedly necessary, besides the absolute observations in the observatory 
itself, to make a series of measui'ements in its neighborhood, in order to prove the 
■existence of possible local influences. 

§ 18. The absolute observations must be conducted in the closest connection and 
synchronously with the readings of the variation instruments, so as to render it pos- 
sible to reduce the indications of the latter to absolute value of determination, e. g., 
the absolute zero points of the different scales. The determinations must be made 
so frequently that any changes which may occur in the absolute value of the zero 
point of the scale of the variation apparatus may be detected with the requisite 
accuracy. 

OBSERVATIONS OF VARIATION. 

vS 19. The observations of the variations should be extended to all three elements 
of terrestrial magnetism, and it is desirable that every station should have a complete 
duplicate system of variation instruments so as to make comparative observations 
from time to time, and to avoid the risk of the interruption of the observations by 
any accident. 

ij 20. The variation instruments should have small needles and the variation of 
horizontal intensity should be observed at least on one system with the unifilar appa- 
ratus with reflectors. Owing to the serious disturbances which may be expected, the 
scales of the variation instruments should be extended to at least 5° on each side, 
and as in certain cases deviations may even exceed these limits, the observers must 
be prepared to be able to measure even such greater excursions. The apiiaratus 
should be erected so as to facilitate, as far as possible, simultaneity of the observations. 

§ 21. During the whole time the variations should be read hourly. It is desirable 
that two readings should be made with an interval of a few minutes ; for instance, 
before and after the exact hour.* 

^ 22. As term days the first and 15"^ day of each month are fixed (only in January 
the 2'°-'^ instead of the P' is taken); the days are from midnight to midnight Gottingen 
time (mean civil time). The readings are to be made every 5 minutes, and always at 
the exact minute, and the three elements should bq read as quickly as possible one 
after the other in the following order : 

Horizontal intensity ; Declination; Vertical intensity. 

^ 23. On such term-days during a whole hour observations every 20 seconds are to 
•be made, but only of the declination. These increased observations for one hour for 
the difterent term days are given in the following table : 

* In the report of the Hamburg Conference the following separate memorandum of "Weypreoht will 
toe found: 

In consideration of the fact that I am of opinion that simple hourly readings at epochs which are 
not precisely deiined are insufficient in order to determine for regions of almost uninterrupted disturb- 
ance the periods and mean values which would express with sufficient accuracy for the purpose of 
comparison of the character of the disturbance for the place and epoch; in consideration, also, of the 
slight increase of labor which is caused by repeating observations at precise moments of time, I 
decline to be bound by the opinion of the majority of "the conference. 

I declare that, under any circumstances, in the expedition which will be under my superintendence 
all three variation instruments will be observed hourly at 58'", 59"", 60™, 61", 62"" Gottingen time. 



APPENDIX. • 47 

GiJttingen civil time. 

1882. August 1 12— 1 p. m. 

15 1— 2 " " 

September 1 2—3" '' 

15 3—4 " " 

October 1 4— 5 " " 

15 5—6 " " 

November 1 6 — 7 " " 

15 7— 8 " " 

December 1 8—9 " " 

15 9—10 " " 

1883. January 1 10—11" " 

15 11— Midn. 

February 2 12 — 1 a. m. 

15 1— 2 " " 

March 1 2—3 " " 

15 - 3—4 " " 

April 1 4—5 " " 

15 5— 6 " " 

May 1 6— 7 " " 

15 7—8" " 

June 1 8—9" " 

15 9—10 " " 

July 1 10—11 " " 

15 11— Noon. 

August 1 12 — 1 p. m. 

15 1— 2 " " 

/. — Auroral observations. 

§ 24. The auroras to be observed hourly with regard to shape, color, and motion ; 
the position to be given according to true bearings. The brilliancy of the different 
parts is to be estimated according to the scale — 4 (vide Weyprecht: Instruc- 
tions for the Observation of Aurora, 1881). If general illumination of the aurora is 
sufficient to read printed matter, its brilliancy is to be estimated in this way and by 
the method employed in testing eyesight (as for instance according to the scale of 
Jaeger in Vienna. 

vN 25. On the term-days, continuous auroral observations will be carried out. 

^ 26. Especially remarkable instances of auroras and magnetic disturbances must 
be made the subject of special investigations, in order to render it possible bo deter- 
mine the connection of the variations of the phases of these two phenomena. 

g. — Astronomical observations. 

§ 27. At as much simultaneity as possible is a main object of the observations, de- 
terminations of position and time are to be carried out by instruments erected solidly 
{Universal Instrument, Transit Instrument, etc.), but these are not to exclude the use 
of good reflecting instruments. Every effort should be made as quickly as possible 
to determine the longitude of the place with sufficient accuracy for the objects of 
expedition. 

II. — The Optional Observations. 

§ 28. The Conference recommends the following observations and enquiries to the 
notice of all gentlemen who have either to draw up instructions for an exxDedition, or 
themselves to take part in one. 

§ 29. Meteorology. The variation of temperature with height ; the temperature of 
the soil, the snow, and the ice on the surface and at various depths ; solar radiation ; 
evaporation at all seasons ; the melting of ice in the summer. 

§1 30. Terrestrial Magnetism. Occasional absolutely simultaneous readings of all 
three magnetical instruments, so as to determine accurately the relations between the 
simultaneous variations of horizontal and vertical intensity. 

§ 31. GalvaJiic earth currents. Observations of earth currents in close connection 
with magnetic observations and those of auroral phenomena. 

6 32. Hydrographical observations. Observations on currents, on the thickness, 
structure, and motion of ice, soundings and observations on the physical properties 
of sea water, e. g., determinations of its temperature and specific gravity: Tidal ob- 
servations, if possible, by means of automatic apparatus. 

§ 33. Aurora. Measurements of the height of the aurora by two observers stationed 



48 APPENDIX. 

about 5 kilometres (Z miles) apart in the line of the magnetic meridian — Spectroscopi- 
cal observations.* 

§ 34. Observations on atmospheric electricity ; on astronomical and terrestrial re- 
fraction ; on twilight t ; on the length of the seconds pendulum ; on the growth and 
structure of floating ice and glaciers. The collections of samples of air for Analysis. — 
Observations and coUectiousin the departments of Zoology, Botany, Geology, etc., etc. 

III.— The Reductions and Calculations at the Place of Observation, 

§ 35. The rules adopted by the Congresses of Vienna and Rome are to be followed 
in all calculations and reductions of meteorological observations. 

^ 36. As regards the discussions of magnetic observations the adoption of the metri- 
cal units of Gauss is recommended. From the variation observations the declination 
and the horizontal and vertical components of the intensity are to be deduced. 

IV. — Publication of the Observations. 

^ 37. Summaries of the observations are to be sent to the International Polar Com- 
mission as soon as possible after the return of the expedition, so as to be published 
speedily and in a uniform manner. It is desirable, if possible, to send even earlier 
notices of the fate and general progress of the expedition. 

^ 38. All observations are to be published in extenso when their discussion is 
complete. The International Polar Commission will, therefore, be reassembled for a 
fresh Conference, to learn the amount of information which has been obtained, and 
to come to an agreement as to the best mode of its publication. 

§ 39. In this publication the metric scale will be used, and all temperatures ex- 
pressed on the centigrade scale. 



(56.) 

[2653 Mis., 1882.] 

(Telegram received May 25, 1882, from St, John's, N. F. 25.) 

To Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., Wash'n, D. C. : 
Just arrived well. Last whaler leaves to-day, and will not go direct to Green- 
land. What orders. Com'd'r Greene sails per Phoenician June first. 

W. M. BEEBEE, Jb. 
24 collect.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(57.) 
[Vol. 16 L. S., pp. 436 to 439, incl.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 25, 1882. 

To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : In the letter from your office of the 18th inst., representing to the President 
the necessity of speedy action in axjprojjriatiug money for the supply expedition to 
Lady FraukUn Bay, a copy of which was furnished this Bureau, thefe appears the 
following in reference to the understanding of the ''necessity of a special appropria- 
tion : " 

*In cormeotion "with this paragraph Prof. Lemstrom handed to the Conference in St. Petershurg 
a proposal for observations which he considers suitable to prove that the aurora is produced by an. 
electric current passing upwards in the atmosphere. This proposal is printed among the protocols of 
that conference. 

+ Prof, von Bezold has drawn attention to the importance of observations of twilight, in a letter 
addressed to the commission. (Vide :A.ppendices to the Protocols of the Conference at St. Petersburg 
and Pogg. Ann. Vol. CXXIII, 1874). 



APPENDIX, 49 

" Observing that ineution is made by the Acting Chief Signal Officer of an under- 
standing had, that the party composing the expedition of last year would remain at 
the point of their destination, to be visited year by year whenever the state of navi- 
gation rendered it possible, until finally recalled, I have to remark that I know of no 
such understanding. 

" The original act of 1880 authorized the establislnueut a 'tempoi-ary station,' and 
the act of March 3d, 1881, made an appropriation for the transportation of men and 
supplies to said location and return. I enclose statement showing the general char- 
acter of the distribiition made by the Chief Signal Officer of the appropriation of last 
year, from which it will be seen that the appropriation was exhausted in the purchase 
of such supplies as are not included in regular army supj)lies, and in the transporta- 
tion of the expedition to its station, leaving no provision for its return." 

In my opinion this tends to misapprehension regarding th<? original character, scope, 
and purpose of this Artie work, is likely to lead the President and Congress to infer 
that the Chief Signal Officer had improperly distributed the appropriation of last year, 
and it maj^ be so misleading as to defeat its further prosecution. 

The stations at Lady Franklin Bay and Point Barrow were established as a part of 
a system of international work that had been for years under consideration, in extend- 
ing stations quite around the pole, under the auspices and co-operation of eight of 
the great powers of the Northern hemisphere for the determination of cert^ain scien- 
tific questions, requiring a series of simultaneous observations extending through two, 
three, or more years. This was thoroughly understood by the President and by Con- 
gress, as I was told by such Senators and Representatives as were most interested in 
the work and who seemed to have the bill authorizing it in charge, liefore the work 
commenced, and without that understanding the work never could have been com- 
menced. The enclosed report of the Hon. W. C. Whitthorne, of the House Committee 
of the 46th Congress, upon the bill authorizing the station at Lady Franklin Bay, 
speaks for that body, especially on pages 1, 5, and 7, which is the foundation and 
t«xt upon which these expeditions were formed, established, and conducted. As it 
may be objected that this report relates only to the act of Congress approved May 1st, 
1880, it should be observed in this connection that the act approved March 3d, 1881, 
in the use of the language, "For continuing the work," &c., plainly means for con- 
tinuing the work referred to in Mr. Whitthorne's report and on the plan therein fully 
set forth. 

I, as the member of the International Polar Commission under whose immediate 
charge the part of the work undertaken by the United States was placed, supposed 
the Secretary of War fully understood this, and did what I could to lay this portion 
of the work fully before him. The plan so clearly set forth in the Committee's re- 
port, page 7, that of yearly visiting, is the only one ever thought of by those having 
the work in charge, that Congress seemed to require or that could promise any useful 
results. 

The appropriation was distributed in the only way possible for any useful purpose, 
since it took twenty of the twenty-five thousand dollars for the charter of a safe and 
proper ship, leaving only five thousand for the purchase of such supplies as the Gov- 
ernment does not furnish to troops, and which were indispensable to life in the Arctic 
regions. Upon careful inquiry of members of the committees in Congress before the 
Lady Franklin Bay expedition left last year, as to the meaning of the words in the 
appropriation bill " and return," it appeared thatit only referred to the return of the 
ship and such parts of the expedition as it might be necessary to send back, since no 
other construction was admissible in connection with the whole scheme of the work. 
I therefore respectfully ask that this information be forwarded to the President and 
there filed with the letter to which this one refers. 

I am, very respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, cf Bvt Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

1 enc. 

Note. — Enc. was report No. 453 H. R., 2d session, 4Gth Congress. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offioer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 4 



50 APPENDIX. 

(58.) 
[Yo). 16 S. S., jiiL 453 .fc 454.] ^ 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington CiUi, May 26, 1H82. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War, 

(Thro' the Adjutaut-Geueral, War Dep't) : 
Sir : I have the honor to forward a copy of the plan of the Lady Fraukliu Bay ex- 
pedition, a copy of which was furnished this office last year by the Adjutant-General. 
It will be seen that the plan was substantially the same as agreed upon by the Presi- 
dent and Secretary of War the previous year. 

In connection with my letter of yesterday, touching the organization and purposes 
of the expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, and in support of the views which I have 
set forth, that there existed ''an understanding both with Congress and the Depart- 
ment which has in no respect been violated," and that the obligation rests upon the 
Government to send a supply expedition each year to that station until its work ie. 
con.pleted, I have the honor to ask that this letter be forwarded with that of yester- 
day to his Excellency the President. 

I am, very respectfallv. vour obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, cf- Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Sifjnal Officer, U. S. A. 

1 enc. (copy of enc. to 831 mis., '81). 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(59.) 
12900 Mis., 1882.] 

St. John'.s, Ne"wfc>usi»lani>, 

JMaij 27, 1882. 
Major-Geueral W. B. Hazen. 

Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Arnuj. Washington, D. C: 
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that I arrived at this place late m the eveuing- 
of the 24th iust., with Mr. Wm. IVI. Beebe, general service U. S. Array. 

We immediately called upon Mr. Molloy, the U. S. consul, but found him absent 
from his residence. We were not able to communicate with him until about 10 o'clock 
on the morning of the 25th iust. 

I have inspected the steam sealers that are in this harbor and find the following 
vessels suitable to carry supplies to the party under the command of Lieutenant 
Greely, stationed at Lady 'Franklin Bay. 

The Proteus, Neptune, Bear, Ranger, and Hector. .They are all propellers, with 
lifting screws, bark or barkentine rigged, strongly built, and well found and equipped 
for the service required of them. 

The first three aire about 680 gross tonnage, with an average speed of eight (8) 
knots per hour, and they are similar in every respect, almost sister ships. The last 
two mentioned are about 430 gross tonnage, with an average speed of seven (7) knots- 
per hour. 

I have recommended to Mr. Beebe that either the Proteus, Neptune, or Bear be 
selected, on account of their superior steam-power, enabling them to push through 
the ice. ' 

The Proteus made a successful voyage last year, carrying Lieut. Greely and his 
party to Lady Franklin Bay. 

A vessel named the Vanguard, of Harbor Grace, is well recommended, but as she- 
is absent on a voyage, I have not been able to inspect her. 
Very respectfully, vour ob't servant, 

S. D. GREENE, 

Co7n'd U. S. N. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer^ 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 5 1 

(60.) 
[2914 Mis., 1882.J 

United States CoNsULATis, 
St. Joint's, X. F., May 30, 1882. 

Geu'l W.-B. Hazen. 

Chief Signal Officer, Washington, I). C. : 
Sir : By this mail you will receive copy of tenders from Major Beebe (who has tele- 
gramed t'bis day), from owners of S. S. Neptvine & Proteus, and would strongly rec- 
ommend the Proteus, with Pike master, than any other steamer that may tender, as 
he IS Avell acquainted with all points that are required for making the necessary de- 
posits of supplies for the successful carrying out of the expedition. No insurance can 
be eft'ected by owners on these steamers. 
Yours, most respectfallv, 

THOS. N. MOLLOY, 

U. S. Consul. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(61.) 

[2853 Mis., 1882.] 

[Telegram. 20"2 coll., n. p. Received at, May 31st, 1882, 9.20 a. m., from St. John's, N. 

F., 31.] 

To Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, Wash'n, D.C.: 

Job Brothers tender Neptune, six thousand dollars mouth, payable moutly, dralt,on 
Treasury, the hire to be paid for three and one-half months certain, from July first; if 
detained, to be at same rate per month until return ; event of loss, or abandonment, to 
be paid to date of casualty. Subsist men, four dollars week; if coal needed, five 
dollars ton. Hector, smaller ship, same conditions, four thousand live hundred per 
month. 

Stewart tender Proteus; hire until her arrival here, or until Oct. iirsfc, twenty-six 
thousand four hundred dollars, payable by two drafts before sailing, first at sight, 
second at three months demurrage ; from first Oct., four thousand four hundred dol- 
lars month, in advance, by sight draft endorsed by consul ; vessel lost or non-arrival 
at St. John's by first January, eighty-three, Government to pay value of vessel, eighty 
thousand dollars, by sight draft, all Newfoundland currency, free of expense or deduc- 
tion of any kind ; if vessel reverts to us wages and victualing of crew, ship expenses 
generally, to be paid by us from date specified ; subsist men, five dollars per week ; 
coal needed, three dollars ton. Telegraph definite instructions regard to making final 
contract: earnestly request to accompany expedition. 

BEEBE. 

Official copy from the reciords of the Signal Office. 

W. B. Hazen, 
Chief Signal Offlcer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



(62.) 
[2901 Mis., 1882.] 

St. John's, Newfouxdlanxi, Mag 31st, 1882. 
Genl W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, U, S. Army : 
General : I have the honor to report that in compliance with your letter of in- 
struction dated " Washington, D. C, May 8th, 1882," I sailed by the first steamer 
available, the; Hibernia, from Baltimore, on the morning of the 17th instant, and 
reached St. John's, Newfoundland, on the evening of the 24th. 

In company with Commander Greene I at once called at the residence of the U. S. 
consiilj but was unable to see him until about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 25th, 



52 APPENDIX 

wheu he informed me that the last vessel for the Greenland coast would sail that day. 
Of this I immediately informed you by telegraph, but the vessel had sailed before 
your reply, directing me to turn over to Couiinander Greene the Newfoundland business 
and proceed to Greenland, was received. 

I accompanied Comd'r Greene in hi.s inspection of the vessels named in his 
report and telegraphed Muun & Co., of Harbor Grace, in reference to the Vanguard, 
which was recommended as a suitable ship ior the expedition, but was informed in 
reply that she was a])sent on a voyage to Monrreal and would have to be docked be- 
fore being (it for an Arctic voyage. 

The choice of vessels as recommended by Comniaiider Greene being reduced to 
three, viz, the Proteus, owned by J, W. Stewart; the Neptune, Job Brothers; and 
the Ik-ar, W. (hie ve & Go. owners. 1 invited proposals from these lirms with the result 
telegraphed you to-day, W. Grieve & Co.'s representative and manager informing 
me that the Bear was ordered home for repairs and would not be available for the 
duty re<n!ircd. 

Mr. Syuie, the representative of J. W. Stewart, anticipating that they would be 
called upon for proposals, telegiaphed the head of the house in England, asking in- 
structions before onr arrival, l>nt did not receive a reply until yesterday, the 30th, and 
sent me their bid late at night. Their proposal and that of .Job Bros, avhs this day 
telegraphed you. 

With reference io ihe stores oidered to be purchased liere, I have lespectfully to 
report that 1 visited the lirms recommended by Lieut. Greely in his letter of Oct. 
29th, 1881, in which he made requisition for supplies, and found that they could be 
furnished only by Job Brothers and J. W. Stewart. 

Altho' the prices ottered by the former were somewhat less, the articles oltV red 
by Stewart were so far superior in quality, especially the boots, that I regarded it as 
economical and prrulent to accept their proposal. 

With reference to the ice master I have thus far done nothing. The Captain Bud- 
dington named by Lieut. Greely does not reside here, but at New Bedford. 

Should the Proteus be selected, her Captain, Pike, would need no ice master, as 
he is pronounced universally to be the best in the country. 

As an extra inducement lor vigilance I would suggest that Capt. Pike be paid two 
hundred dollars extra if his voyage })roves successful. 
I am, very respectSnltv. your ob't servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr., 
Private, General Sei-vice U. S. A. 



Oflicial copy iroui the rsicords of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, '63. 



B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 



(63.^ 
[3848 Mis., 1882.] 

[Telegram received at June 1st, 1882, 1.02 p. m., from New York. 1.] 

To Caziajrc, 

Signal Ofs, JVash'n., D. C. 

Make proposition for Proteus same as last year ; if declined close for Neptune on best 
possible terms ; same captain a-s-last year preferred ; ambulance at B. and O. at ten 
p. m. 

HAZEN. 

Olficial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

CJiief Signal Offi,cer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



(64.) 



[3177 Mis., 1882. ] 

Personal.] St. John's, Newfoundland, 

June ith, 1882. 
My Dp:ar General: I need scarcely assure you that your telegram of to-day, assur- 
ing me that all was satisfactory regarding charter of steamer, and that I might go to 



APPENDIX. 53 

Griniiell Land, wfws iiioet gratifying. Am having clieap ovitlit lu&de. After 1 parted 
with yon on yoTir departure for St. Lonis, and I began to comprehend fnliy the diffi- 
culties I might exi:)ect to eoconnter, on account of tlie lateness of the season, contra- 
dictory reports concerning probable departure of whales for Greenland, etc., and with 
lay full appreciation of the great importance not only to Greely's party, but to your 
reputation, of a successful voyage, 1 regretted that some one else more competent and 
experienced had not been assigned to the duty, and when finally I arrived here too 
late to get passage to Greenland and found that you were in the power of these peo- 
ple for a vessel upon their own terms, I felt that I should return in disgrace. I knew 
full well, of course, that I had neglected nothing that was within my power to in- 
sure success, but I feared that you might not, at that distance, appreciate the difficul- 
ties. 

I was delayed in arriving at any decision, waiting for Stewart to reply from Eng- 
land to his agent's cablegrams, and finally when his proposal came my heart sank 
within me. Job Brothers' tender was far more exorbitant than I had anticipated, 
and Stewart's crushed me. 

I am very glad that 1 am to go, that is, if I am to go as your immediate representative. 
I am daily and hourly obtaining information that will be of use, but. unless I have 
some especial assignment, my position as a private, general service — with a sergeant 
on board — will be embarrassing and anomalous. 

I should either be made a sergeant dating back to rank whoever may come, or 
better still (and the President upon your request would, under the cii'ciimsrances, do 
it) be made a lieutenant. Otherwise difficulties present themselves to me. Naturally 
jealousies would occur amongst the men, and to give dignity to my position and 
authority (which on such duty is of prime importance) I must have rank or its equiva- 
lent, in the form of orders which cannot be disputed. 

Norman — last year, first mate of the Proteus — is to go as first mate. He is an ex- 
cellent man, of much experience on the Greenland coast. He has been with me several 
hours to-day and I am convinced that he is more thoroughly familiar with the head- 
lands and islands of Smith's Sound and Kennedy Channel than Captain Pike of the 
Proteus. It was Norman who went ashore with Greely at all points where he made 
landings to examine caches, etc., and lie points out and describes them with no 
hesitation. 

Commencing at the first point south of Conger, on Greely's proposed line of retreat 
(should retreat become necessary), there is a cache with records, established by him- 
self (Greely) at Carl Ritter Bay, coming south ; and at a point nearly midway be- 
tween Kichardsou Bay and C. ; Collinson is a, depot of supplies left by Capt. Nares; 
thence south, just above Dobbin Bay, another Nares cache; at Cape Hawkes still 
another, from which Greely took a whale-boat Cape Prescott is not down on my 
chart, but Norman knows its exact locality. It is at the northern entrance to Frank- 
lin Pierce Bay. At that point €}reely wishes a whale-boat left to enable him to 
cross F. P. Bay to Bache Island. Thence they would cross the channel (about 25 
miles) to Littleton Island, where depot B would be established. Their line of retreat 
would be thence down Capt. Nares' route to Carey Is., where there is a good boat and 
a large depot of supplies, safe from the de]>redations of natives, and open sailing south- 
ward. 

Capt Nare's chart is on a la.rger scale and in all respects the best for our guidance. 
At least two copies should be sent me, and I would like a third for Mr. Molloy, con- 
cerning whom I cannot speak too highly. 

Norman is sanguine that we will make as good a trip as did the Proteus. He pro- 
nounces the Neptune as faster under steam, and as a more powerful ice boat. He 
has sailed in l>oth and says that while the Proteus — whose boilers are as old as her- 
wli — never c;irries more than seventy pounds steam, the Neptune at high-speed or in 
butting heavy ice. carries 10(i lbs. Her boiler is only three years old. Altogether I 
am quite satisfied witli the Xeptuue, and think we will surely get up if we cannot 
get back. 

The Nei'jtnne will go on Wednesday or Thursday to Sidney for dockage and exami- 
nation, and be back ready to receive stores by Monday, 26th. I w(.iuld suggest that 
stores enumerated for caches (Depots "A" and " B "), as specified in Lieut. Greeley's let- 
ter of August 17th, '81. frouj Fort Conger, should be packed together as compactly as 
possible ^^•here they are jiui'chased (leaving room only for the mulberry preserves, 
which will be here by next steamer), and the contents distinctly painted on packages. 
Such work can be done more expeditiously and cheaper there than here. 

For my own use I would like to have sent a Winchester rifie and araunitiou, a 
good field-glass, ajid a modern Colt's revolver, with amuuiti(?n, tog.ether with such 
other articles as may be deemed useful and which can be.issuedtome. I will send to 
Lieut. Craig power of attorney to draw my August pay, and to Weimer a list of ar- 
ticles which I would be gl.'td to have him purchase and send forward to me by theS. 
B. w«"Ti!er,nt who will accoariianv the esDeditioii. 



54 APPENDIX. 

June 7th — Evening. 

The steamer Prussian from Ba'to. just in, but as the mail will not be distributed un- 
til 9 o'clock and the Neptune has "cleared,'' and ■will sail early in the morning for 
Sidney, where this will be mailed, I cannot delay, but will write again by next 
steamer, which will leave on Monday or Tuesday. I send by this the rough copy of 
contract; will forward your copy by regular mail. 

Mr. Molloy, whose interest and activity deserves and should receive official recog- 
nition, will send to Greely's party a sow (with vouhg), and .suggests that two more 
should be pui'chased and sent; will co.st about ten dollars each. He also suggests 
sending two fat cows or steei's lor fresh beef, cost about 30 each, and half dozen sheep, 
also some poultry. He has ordered from Sidney two tons bailed hay for cattle and 
sheep, which lie will keep himself if you do not approve live-stock purchase. . I have 
bought for them, at three cents each, two doz. fresh cocoanuts from a ship just in 
from the tropics. 

Capt. Sopp arrived last night. Tell Com'd'r Greene that I like Sopp's appearance 
better than Pike's. He is a much more intelligent man and will have good discipline. 
Every one speaks in the highest terms of him as a navigator, and an old captain of 
the Yauguard told me this eveuing that Norman had sailed with him two years and 
was the best pilot for northern waters in this port. 

With Norman I have already made friends. He has a master's certificate and is 
ambitious lo go to Ba'to. or N. Y. and get command of a vessel next season. I told 
him that should he succeed in piloting us safely and successfully to Conger and back 
within the three and a half months I would promise him the aid of your influence and 
that of such boards of trade as you could command in securing a ship. Please send 
me some such assurance for him over your signature. Amougst Normau's other ac- 
quirements or accomplishments he speaks the native languages. 

' Please present my respectful regards to Mrs. Hazen, whose kind words of encour- 
agement I shall never forget. I hope to bring you — to present to her — souit- eider duck 
skins, which I am told the natives prepare and sew together so deftly that you cannot 
see where they are joined — beautiful cloak lining. My love to little John and kind 
regards to every one at the office, including "Jess," John, and George. My especial 
regards to Lieuts. Caziarc, Dunwoody, Craig, and Storey, Capt. Powell and Mr. Nel- 
son, and Capt. Clapp. 

Now, General, I have done my utmost thus far to meet with your unqualified ap- 
proval, and shall continue so to do. If zeal and unfaltering ettbrt on my part can 
make the trip a success a success it will be. 

Please write me fully. Please drop a line to my father at Hudson telling him of 
your approval of me, and believe me ever, 
Faithfullv yours, 

BEEBE. 

P. S. — Norman was in to see me and says that with the exception of the pigs, which 
can be penned in the hold or lower deck, live stock is impracticable on account of the 
dogs. He thinks Greeley's dogs are all dead of disease which made its appearance 
last year. Had I not better hi\j twenty instead of ten, the number asked for ? 

General, the stores should all be here and in readiness to load by the 25th instant. 
There were annoying delays last year. There is nothing here now excepting the few 
articles purchased by me. The mulberries are on their way. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(65.) 

[Vol. 17, PS. 120.1 

(Copy.) 

War Department, Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 6, 1882. 

Colonel H. C. Hodges, 

In charge Qnartermasier's Dep't, Neic York City: 
Sir : I have the honor to forward herewith list exhibiting purchases made iu New 
York, on the 1st, 2d, and 3d inst., by agent of this office, which purchases were or- 
dered delivered to the Quartermaster's Dep't, addressed to "Lt. A. W. Greely, Fort 



APPENDIX. 



55 



Conger, Grinuell Land, for Lady Franklin Bay Expedition."' Bills for the above 
were to be sent to tbis office, accompanied by receipt from Qiiarterrnaster's Dept. for 
articles invoiced. 

It is requested that this office be notified if the supplies are not received this week 
that prompt measures may be taken to secure their delivery without further delay. 
I am. verv respectfullv, vour obed. servant. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, cf Brf. Maj. Gen'J, Chief Sifinal Officer, U. S. A 



192 

50 

50 

50 

50 

4 

100 

300 

200 

300 

24 

60 

144 

244 

50 

300 

408 

120 

60 

96 

5 

50 

50 

10 

1 

160 

5 



5 
432 
5 
1 
2 



Articles. 



Pack'ses. 



Cans blueberries 2 lbs 

Buckets peacli butter ! 5 " 

" pear " I 5 " 

' ' phim " j 5 " , 

Lbs. dried cherries j 

:J bbls. cidei I 

Cans chicken [ 2 " 

carrots |2 ■' , 

'■ choc, mdhe J " 

" coflee " . i 1 " 

Bottles horse-radish flour. . . | 

Galls, lime juice : 3 20-gall. kegs . 

Cans okra \ 2 lbs .' . . 

roa.st mutton |2 '• 

" turkey | 2 " 

" turnips \2 " 

'■ squash - j 3 " 

" -n-hortleberries j 2 '' 

Galls. X. E. mm i 3 20-gall. kegs 



Ordered of- 



2bs 

Size 9 & 10. 



Can.s sausage 

Doz. cloth gloves 

Yards red flannel, h'vy. .. 
Pairs boots, button or laced, 

10 each size, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11. 
Lbs. resin 

" amonia 

Galls, alcohol i 

Pack'ges cop. nails, 1 1-in., j J bbls 

2 i-in.. 2 2-in. [ Packages 

Large diaries i 400 pages 

Small ! 300 

Papers tacks, cai-pet ! Assorted .... 

Lbs. soda hy. sulph ■ 

Tin boxes matches, wax ; 

Ounces pyrogallic acid 

Nail puller i 

Copper lamps without mag. I 

attachment. • j 
Copper lanterns, small bull- ■ 

eye attachment. 

Gross screws j A.ssort. sizes . . 

Balls twine, sail-makers' 



Kemp, Day & Co.. 100 Murray str. 
Thurber&Co.l^B^^^^^^y 

I. li jEeade & Hudson St. 

E. C. Hazard & Co.. 196 Chambers st. 
Thurber & Co. 

Kemp, Day & Co. 

Powell & Coleman, 152 Chambers str. 

Cond. Milk Co., 79 Murray str. 

E. C. Hazard & Co. 

Holway, "Wright & Miner, 167 Chambers .'»tr. 

Kemp, Day & Co. 

Thurber & Co. 

Kemp, Day & Co. 
Thurber & Co. 
Kemp, Day & Co. 
E. C. Hazard & Co. 
Kemp, Day Sc Co. 
W. B. Claflin & Co. 

Jas. Chambers, 37 "Warren str. 

Pleasant-s. 

; W. H. Schiefflin & Co., 170 Ann str. 
■ J". F. Farrington, 32 Howard. 

; F. Appleby, 31 Union sq. 

! Farrington, J. F. 

I Pleasants. 

I Faningtou, J. F. 

. Pleasants. 

I Farrington, J. F. 

; J. J. Valton, 20 Dey str. 



J. F. Farrington. 



Official copy from the reconls of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '8:5. 



(66.) 



[Tol. 17, pg. 121.] 



W. B. HAZEN," 

Chief Signal O^^oer. 



(Copy.) 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Wa-)hington City, June 6, IS'^i. 
Mr. W. M. Beebe : 

Sir : Eaclosed herewith you will find a list of stores for the Lady Franklin Bay ex- 
pedition, which must be bought in St. John's, Certainof them, as the fresh vegetable.? , 



66 



APPENDIX. 



you will anvange to liave delivered only in time for shipment on the steamer. Most 
of the stores on the list are of such a character that you can buy them at once, or at 
least in time to insure their delivery. 

It is probable that you will need to have the 40 p'rs of drawers required to be spe- 
cially made. 

Attend to this in. time, and see that both material and making are of good quality. 

The boards needed should be ^ in. thick, and those for repairing boats of the beet 
quality. 

You will purchase the articles on the list, to which the instructions already given 
yon will also apply. 

Instructions will be sent you by the next mail regarding the supplies to be prepared 
for deposit iji depots in case the relief-ship shall fail to reach Lieut. Greely. 
Eespectfully, vours, " 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenU, Chief Signal Officei; U. S. A. 

Acknowledge receipt of tliis by telegram. 
Note. — Above addressed to St. John's, N. F. 

Articles to be bought at St. John's for Lady Frankliu Bay, and for which no provision 

has yet been made: 

40 p'rs drawers, two largest sizes to be njade of blanketing. 
4 bbls. fresh potatoes. 

1 '' " turnips. 

2 *' " parsnips. 

^ cord (split, but not sawed) birch lire-wood. 
3,000 ft. kiln-dried boards, 14 feet, mill-dressed. 
1,500 ft. flooring, 14 feet. 
1,500 ft. best pine boards for repairing boats. 
1,000 ft. 2x4 scantliug, kiln-dried and mill-dressed. 
1,000 " 2x6 " ■ " " 

500 " 2x8 " " " 

200 yards light canvas for boat sails. 
1,000 brick. 

2 b'ls cement. 

240 fathoms rope, \l x 2^ in. 

100 lbs. tow, picked. 

Articles Beebe was to buy at St. John's. 

6 tons dried seal meat. 
75 p'rs seal-skin boots (50 unsoled, 25 p'rs soled.) 
150 " Iceland stocking\s. 
'■ 5 square flipper seal skins, or if not to be had, ten old dog harp seal skins. 



Official copy from the records of the Sigual OiSce. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



{67.) 



[Vol. 17, C. S. 0., page 137.] 

War Dep.4ktmei\t, 
Office Chief Signal Officei;, 

Washington City, June 7, 1882. 

Mr. W. M. Beebe, 

St. Johns, X. F.: 
SiE : Enclosed herewith you will receive an additional copy of Lieut. Greely's letter 
of August 17, '81, containing suggestions regarding the establishment of supply de- 
pots in the event of the relief vessel (being sent this year) failing to reach Lady Frank- 
lin Bay. While it is confidently hoped that the A'cssel may get through, and to this 
end no effort must be spared, it may occur that the passage cannot be made. In that 



APPENDIX. 67 

event the depots indicated in Lieut. Greely's letter must he established with the 
vstores named at the place* he has chosen. That this may be done, should it become 
necessary, yon will cause supplies for depots "A" & "B " to be prepared at St. John's, 
and to be so loaded as to be readily accessible. As any supplies so left will be liable to 
exposure for an indefinite period, they must be carefully put up and secured, and, 
when cached, be protected from the weather and from animals as securely as possible. 
Great care must be exercised to carry out instructions of Lieut. Greely regarding the 
location of depots "A" & "B,'' and also regarding the notices which he wishes deposited. 

Should a whale-boat be left as suggested, it should be so secured- and protected 
from weather as to receive the least possible damage. 

A complement of oars, &c., will of course be left with each boat, as well as a state- 
ment, corked and sealed in a stiitable bottle, of the circumstances and purpose of its 
being left. 

I am. Aery respectfullv, vours, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Brt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

1 Enc. (copy 3566 Mis.. 1861). 
Acknowledge by telegraph. 

Oflicial copy from the records of the Siii^nal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1S83. 



[3566 Mis., 1881. J 

Fort Conger, Grinnell Land, 

August nth, 188L 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to recommend that in connection with the vessel to visit 
this station in 1882 there be sent some captain of the merchant service who has had 
experience as a whaler and ice-master. Five enlisted men of the Army are requested 
to rejilace men invalided or who are found to be unfit otherwise for the work. One 
of the niimber should be a Signal Service sergeant. Sergeant Emory Braine, 2d Cav- 
alry, and Sergeant Martin Hamburg, Company E, 10th Infantry, are recommended 
most highly, and without they are physically or morally unfitted within the year their 
detail is requested. The two remaining men should be such as have had some sea 
experience. All the men should be rigidly examined as to their physical condition. 
The ice-master should be expected to see that every effort is made to reach this point 
by the vessel sent. In case the vessel cannot reach this point, a very possible con- 
tingency, a depot (No. A) should be made at a pei'manent point on the east coast ol 
Grinnell Land (west side of Smith Sound or Kennedy Channel), consisting of ninety- 
six cans chocolate and milk, ninety-six cans coffee and milk, one-half barrel of alcohol, 
forty-eight mutton, forty-eight beef, one keg rum, forty-eight cans sausage, forty- 
eiglit cans mulberry preserves, two barrels bread, one box butter, forty-eight cans 
condensed milk, one-half barrel onion j»ickles, forty-eight cans cranberry sauce, forty- 
eight cans .soup, twenty-four cans tomatoes, one gross wax matclies (to be in water- 
tight case), one-eighth cord of wood, one wall-tent (complete), one axe and helve, 
one whale-boat. At Littleton Island, carefully cached on the western point, out of or- 
dinary sight, with no cairn, should be placed an equal amount (depot B ), but no 
boat. . A notice as to the exact locality should be left iu the top of the coal y^refera- 
bly in a corked and sealed bottle), buried a foot deep, which was left on that island. 
A second notice should be in the edge of the coal furthest inland, and a third in the 
Nares cairn, now open, which is on summit southwest part of island. 

The second boat should be left a,t Cape Prcscott, or very near, in order that if boats 
are necessarily abandoned above that point one will beavailal)le to cross to Bache 
Island and go to the southward. These boats should' be not exceeding forty feet and 
not less than twenty above high-water mark, and their positions should be marked 
by substantial scantling, well secured and braced, to the top of which a number of 
pieces of canvas should be well nailed, so that it may be plainly and easily seen. A 
second staff, with pieces of canvas, should be raised on a point which shows x>i'omi- 
nently to the northward, so a party can see it a long distance. Depots A and B 
should be made ready iu Saint John's, and be plainly marked and carefully secured. 

The packages during the voyage should be easily accessible. Depot A should be 
landed at the farthest possible northern point. A few miles is important, and no. 
southing should be permitted to obtain a prominent location. The letters and dis- 



,58 APPENDIX. 

patches .should all be carei'ully soldered up iu a tin case, and then boxed (at Saint 
John's) and marked, or put in a well-strapped, water-tight keg, and should be left 
with depot A if such depot shall be at or north or in plain sight of Cape Hawks, 
^nd the newspapers and periodicals left at Littleton Island. If depot A is not so 
far north, the letters and all mail should be returned to the United States. After 
making depot B, at Littleton Island, the vessel should, if possible, leave a record 
•of its proceedings at Cape Sabine. If the party does not reach here in 1882, there 
should be sent in 188.3 a capable, energetic officer, with ten (10) men, eight of whom 
should have had practical sea experience, provided with three whale-boats and ample 
provisions for forty (40) persons for tifteeu months. The list of all provisions takeu 
by me this year would answer exceedingly well. In case the vessel was obliged to 
turn southward (she should not leave Smith Sound near Cape Sabine before Sep- 
tember 15th) it should leave duplicates of depots A and B of 1882 at two different 
points, one of which should be between Cape Sabine and Bache Island, the other to 
be an intermediate depot between two depots already established. Similar rules as 
to indicating locality should be insisted on. Thus tbe Grinnell Land coast would be 
covered with seven depots of ten days' provisions in less than three hundred miles, 
not including the two months' supplies at Cape Hawks. 

The party should then proceed to establish a winter station at Polaris winter quar- 
ters. Life Boa t Cove, where their main duty would 1)e to keep their telescopes on Cape 
Sabine and the land to the northward. Tbe.\ should have lumber enough for house 
-and observatory, fifty tons of coal, and complete meteorological and magnetic outfit. 
Being furnished with dogs, sledges, and a native driver, a party of at least six (6) 
men should proceed, when iiracticable, to Cape Sabine, whence a sledge party north- 
ward of two best fitted men should reach Cape Hawks, if not Cape CoUinson. Such 
.action, from advice, experience, and observation, seems to me all that can be done to 
insure our safety. No deviation from these iustructions should be permitted. Lati- 
tude of action should not be given to a relief )>arty v/bo on a known coast are search- 
ing for men who know their plans and orders. 
• I am, respectfully, vours, 

A. W GREELY, 
Is^ Lieut, bth Cavalry, J. S. 0. and Js-s'/, f'ommandinfi Expedition. 

A true copv. 

LOl'IS V. CAZIAEC, 
\st Lieut 2d AriiUery. ArJinrj Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '33. 

JilEMORANDA OF DKPOTS COXTAIXIXG SUPPLIE8 J.OC.VTED IX SMITH SOUND AXD KEN^- 

NKDY CHAXXKL. 

Southeast Carey Inland. " 

One whale-boat and depot of provisions. (Expedition Sir George Nares, 1875.) 
Visited in 1881 by Lieutenant Greely, and supplies reported in good condition. 

Littleton L'iland. 

Six and one-half tons of coal on low ground, southwest side of island, facing Cap6 
Alexander. (Greely's expedition, 1881.) 

Two hundred and fifty rations left iu cache, well secured. (Expedition 1882.) 

Cape SaMne. 

Small de]>ot of two hundred and forty rations (Nares' expedition, 1875) reported by 
Lieutenant Greely, but not visited by him. 

Visited by expedition 1882, and reported in good condition. 

One whaie-boat, one-eighth cord of birch-wood, and two hundred and fifty ratioaa 
left in cache, well secured and covered. (Expedition 1882.) August 31. 

Cape HaU'ks. 

Small depot, consisting of bread, two kegs pickles, two kegsrnm, two barrels stear- 
ine, one barrel preserved potatoes. (Nares' expedition, 187.5.) 
Reported .serviceable by Lieutenant Greely. (Expedition 1881.) 



APPENDIX. 59 

Cape CoJlinsotK 

Small depot of two hundred and forty rations (Nare&' exped!^i ^ i , 1^7", reported by- 
Lieutenant Greely 1H81, but cache not visited. 

Carl BU!cr Jiai/. 

Small depot of two hundred and t\\enty-tivf bread arid lue.it rations on first bench 
from the sea. northeast part of the bay. (Lieutenant GreelT's espedftion, lR81.y 

Thank (iod Harbor. *• 

Depot containing su2)plic8, amount anil condition unknown. (Hall's exnedition, 
1374. ) 

Cape IsaheJIa. 
One ^^■hale-l)oat. (Expedition 1882.) 

Highest latitude reached by expedition of 1882, 79° 20' north, August 10. 
Highest point at which landing' was possible, Cape Sabine, August 31, 18^2. ' 



(»W. ) 
[Vol. 17, po-. X39. C.S. 0.] 

War Department, ' 

OfFiCE Chief Signal Officer, 

TTashhigtov Ciiy, J7aie7, 18S2. 
To the honorable the Secretary OF War: 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the action of the Secretary of 
War on my letters of May 25 and 26, declining to forward the same for the information 
of Congress. This leads me to believe that the purpose of those letters was not un- 
derstood. 

The lives of the party at Lady Franklin Bay depend solely upon timely action here 
and in the nuitter in question, and the pur];>ose of those letters was to lay before Con- 
gress what appears to me a very important fact. The ship must sail from St. John's, 
Newfoundland, by July 1st in order to insure the fullest chances of reaching the 
party, and my letter of May 12th, 1882, was written to impress this fact strongly upon 
Congress. But the statement of the Secretary of War through the President to Con- 
gress, in his letter of May 18, 1882, that he did not know that there was an under- 
standing to keep up these Arctic stations, leaves the inference that there was no 
such under.staudiMg, which cannot fail to weaken the object of my letter, since it takes 
away a part of the moral obligation to give the party timely support. 

It was to lay before Congress in its own published reports the fact that the expedi- 
tion was one for continuous work, requiring continuous support, in place of one such 
as it was fair to infer trom the letter of the Secretary of War. that the expedition bad 
been authorized for a season, but that the Chief Signal Oihcer, at his own instance, 
had seen fit to perpetuate it, but had reserved no part of the original fund intended 
to bring the party back for that jiurpose. 

It was to correct this with the President as well as with sucli members of Congress 
as should be impressed with the Secretary's letter that these letters were sent. 

It was to lay before Congress this obligation, as shown in the enclosures with those 
letters, to send this aid speedily. 

As the head of the Bureau immediately responsible for the fitting out of this ex- 
pedition, and who will now be held to a strict account for the timely succor of the 
party, I forwarded these facts, which it was imperative for Congress to know for its 
intelligent action. 

In forwarding those papers it would seem to the Chief Signal Officer, whose duties 
constitute him the custodian of the detailed information 2iow required in this case, 
that he is forbidden to give to Congress all the information needed for its full under- 
standing of the case, or to show to them the absolute obligation and necessity of 
speedy action, for every day after July 1st the relief vessel is delayed in sailing 
lessens the chances of reaching these men at all. 

I am, very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, aird Bvt. Maj. Gen' I, Chief Signal (JfHeer, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officen-. 



60 APPENDIX. 

(t;9.) 

|Yol. 17. pg. 170, C. S. O. book.] 

Wak Dkpartmekt, 
Office Chief Signal Ofkickk, 

If'ashingtoii C"v7»/, June 10, 168*2. 
The honorable Jbe Skcketaky of War : 

Sir: I have the honor to reqaest that Dr. W. A. Apph^^gate, of Springlield, Ohio, 
may he contracted with as acting assistant snrgeon IJ. S. Army, for duty with the 
expedition now at Lady Franklin Bay, to relieve Dr. Octave Pyvy, who is now at 
that station and who desires to return. 

The last available steamer for St. John's, N. F., leaves New York on the 22d inst., 
and as Dr. Applegate is still in Ohio, it is suggested that his contract go into eftect 
on the 20th of June, at this city, after he has reported. 
V^rv respectfnllv, sir, vour obedient servant. 

.J AS. W. POWELL, 
Captain (Uh InJ'Cij. Arlin;/ Clifef SujviU Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copv of the records of the Signal Ottlce. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

('lilef Signal Opt cer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



(70.) 
[32C8Mis.,'82.J 

St. John's. Newfoundland, 

June V3tk, 1882. 
C4en'l W. B. Hazkn. 

Chief Signal Officer. U. S. Army : 
General : I have the honor to transmit herewith the provisional charter for the 
steamship Neptune, the original copy of which was forwarded via Sidney, Cape 
Breton, last week. 

I am, very respeetfullv. vour ob't servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr., 
Prirate, GenH Service, V. S. A. 



St. John's, Newfoundland, 

Jme 'Sd, 1882. 

This agreement, made by Job Brothers & Co., owners of the good steamship Nep- 
tiine, burthen per register 465 tons net or thereabouts, Wm. Sojip, master, parties of 
the first part, and William M. Beebe, jr., general service U. S. Army, now in St. 
John's aforesaid, the agent of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army of the United States 
of America, and acting on behalf of the Government of the United States, party of 
the second part, witnesseth : That the parties of the first part agree that in consider- 
ation of the terms hereinafter set forth, the said steamship or vessel, being tight, 
staunch, and strong, and in every way fitted for the voyage hereinafter described, 
shall be ready for the said voyage and shall be at the disposal of the Chief Signal 
Officer of the Army of the United States from the first day of July, 1832, when the 
voyage shall be construed to have begun. And the said party of the second part 
hereby, in consideration of the aforesaid, contracts to pay for the use of said vessel, for 
at least three and a half months, at the rate of sis thousand dollars (16,000) per month 
of thirty days, in United States currency. The party of the second part further 
agrees that the said compensation shall be xiaid at the end of each month, by draft on 
the office of the Chief Signal Officer, Army of the United States ; the first draft, how- 
ever, not to be made payable earlier than the 2oth of July, 1882. 

It is also mutually agreed by the parties hereto that should the said vessel be de- 
tained on the said voyage beyond the time stipulated above, then the same rate of six 
thousand dollars per month shall be paid for her until her return to St. John'.s, New- 
foundland, the said expenses to be paid at the end of each month, as is herein pro- 
vided for the payment of the compensjition; provided that in the event of the loss or 
abandonment of said vessel the party of the second part shall be responsible for the 
hire aforesaid only to the date upon which such loss or abandonment shall occur. 



APPENDIX. 6 1 

It is further agre-ed by the parties of the first piirt to provide all aecessary food and 
provisions for the force accompanying the relief expedition or returning from La;dy 
Frankliu Bay, said food to be equal to the usual ship's fare, and to be furnished at the 
rate of four dollars ($4.00) per week of seven (7) days each, in United States currency, 
for each individual comprising said force ; ;nid the party of the second part agrees to 
pay for tlie food thus furnisijed at the same time and in the same draft that final 
payment is made for the use of said A'essel. 

it is hereby further mutually agreed that in the event of the force at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay (Fort Conger, Discovery Harbor) being in need of coal, the said parties of the 
iirst part will deliver to said force, or at points designated by the agent of the Chief 
Signal Oifice, such quantity as may be needed to the amount of seventy (70) tons, at 
the rate of four dollars ($4,00) per ton, in United States currency, to he drawn for 
upon the return of the vessel to St. John's. 

It is agreed by the party of the second part that pei-sons constituting the relief force 
shall render the captain and crew of the said vessel all the assistance in their power 
to expedite the landing of supplies at all points where landings shall bo made. 

It is further agreed that Lady Franklin Baj' (Fort Conger, Discovery Harbor) is the 
extreme northern point which it is desired that the vessel aforesaid shall reach; but 
if the master of the vessel and the officer or agent representing the Chief Signal Offi- 
cer aforesaid, after consultation, shall not agree that it is impracticahle to reach said 
bay hy reason of ice barriers, lateness of season, or any other insurmountable ob- 
stacle, then the said Wm, Sopp, master aforesaid, may leave Smith Sound (or the 
northermost point attainable) to return to St, John's aforesaid not earlier than Sep- 
tember first, 1882; and he shall discharge and cache stores as per schedule marked 
"A," and annexed hereto, in the qnantities and at the points named therein, and pro- 
tected and marked by signals as therein specified. 

The ])arties of the first i)art hereby agree that this contract shall be performed by 
them, the act of God, the Queen's enemies, fire, and all and every other danger and 
accident of the seas, rivers, and navigation of whatsoever kind and nature always 
excepted. 

The party of the first part further agree that they will pay to the agent of the 
Chief Signal Officer, Army of the United States, as a penalty for non-performance of 
this contract, the sum herein agreed to be paid by the officer of the Chief Signal Offi- 
cer aforesaid for the use of said vessel lor the period of three and a half months. 
This contract provisional npou the appropriation by the Congress of the Urjited 
States. 

Signed, executed, and delivered at St. John's, Newfoundland, this third day of June, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two. 

JOB BEOTHEES & CO. 
W. M. BEEBE, Jr., 

General Service Z7, S. Army. 

Witnesses : i 

John Jeans. 
Thos. N. Molloy, 

U. S. Cotmd. 

ScEtEDULE "A," 

In case the vessel cannot reach Lady Franklin Bay, adepot, No. 'A,"shallbe madeafc 
a prominent point on. the east coast of Griuuell Land (west side of Smith Sound or 
Kennedy Chauuel), consisting of certain stores which will be packed at St. John's, 
contents plainly marked upon packages, and carefully secured. The articles for this 
depot will incltule ooe whale-bt>at. 

At Littleton Island, carefully cached on western point, out of ordinary sight, with 
no cairn, shall be placed an eq ual amount (depot " B"), but no boat. A notice as to the 
exact locality should be left in the toy) of the coal (in a corked and sealed bottle), 
buried a foot deep, which was left on that island. A second notice must be left in the 
edge of the coal furtherest inland, and a third in the Nares cairn, now open, which is 
on summit S. W. x>art of island. 

The second boat will be left at Ca|:)e Prescott, or very near, in order that if boats 
are necessarily abandoned above that point one will be available to cross toBache Isl- 
and and go to the southward. These boats sh uld be left not exceeding forty feet 
and not less than twenty above high-water mark, and their positions should l)e marked 
by substantial scantling, well secured and braced, to the top of which a number of 
pieces of canvas must be well nailed so that it may be plainly and easily seen. A 
second stafl^' w tli i)ieces of canvas to be raised on a. point which shows prominently 
U) the northward, so a party can see it a long distance. 

The packages for these dej)ots must be placed where they will be easily accessible 
durina: the vovajie. 



62 APPENDIX. 

Tlie articles for depot " A" siiould be landed at the farthest possible northern point. 
A few miles is important, and no southing should be permitted to obtain a prominent 
location. The letters and dispatches will be all carefully secured at St. John's, and 
will be left with depot " A," if such depot shall be at or north or in plain sight of Cape 
Hawks, and the newspapers and periodicals at Littleton Island. If depot "A" is not 
so far north, the letters and all mail to be returned to the United States. 

After marking depot " B " at Littleton Island the vessel must, if possiblie, leave a. 
record of her proceedings at Cape Sabine. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 

Nov. 9, '63. 



(71.) 

[Vol. 17. pg. 230, C. S. O.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 15, 1882. 
To the Adjutamt-General, War Dcpavtment: 

Sir : I have the honor to recommend that Acting Assistant Surgeon Frederick K. 
Hoadley, having contracted with the War Department under authority of the Secre- 
tary of War of June 13, ls82, may be assigned by orders to the expeditionary force at 
Lady Franklin Bay, and directed to ijroceed from this city, by the way of New York 
and the Cromwell line of steamers, to St. .John's, N. F., thence by public transporta- 
tion to Lady Franklin Bay, and that transportation in kind be furnished by the route 
named to; St. John's, N. F. 

Dr. Hoadley should be instructed to perform the duties of medical officer to the 
expeditionary force while en route to the point of destinatiou. 
I am. very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. G-enU, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copv from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



(72.) 
[Vol. 17, pg. 233, C.S.O.] 

War Department, 

Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington Citij, June 1.5, 1882. 
Mr. W. M. Beebe., Si. John's, N. F. : 

Sir : It being impracticable to ship powder by the Cromwell steamers from New 
York, you will purchase in St. John's tweuty-iive (25) pounds Dupont's sporting pow- 
der and ship same with other supplies for Lieut. Greely. 
Eespectfully, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt, Maj. GenU, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 63- 

(73.) 
[Special Orders No. 139.] 

Headquarters of the Arjiy, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washingio)!, June 16, 1882. 
Extract. 

1. By direction of the Secretary of War Acting Assistant Surgeon Frederick H. Hoad- 
iey, U. S. Army, is assigned to duty with the expeditionary force at Lady Franklini 
Bay, and will proceed from this city, via New York and the Cronivrell steamers, to St. 
John's, Newfoundland, thence by public transportation to Lady Fra.uklin Bay. 

The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation in kind by the route- 
named to St. John's. 

Dr. Hoadley will perform the duties of medical officer to the expeditionary force- 
while en route to the point of destination. 



By command of General Sherman : 
Official : 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Eeceived O. C. S. 0. Jun. 16, 1882. 



R. C. DRUM, 

Adjutant-General. 

C. McKEEVER, 
Assistant Adjutant-General, 



W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



(74.) 
[Special Orders No. 140.] 

Headquarters op the Armt, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, June 17, 1882. 
Extract. 

1. By the direction of the Secretary of War the following-named enlisted men are 
assigned to duty with the Lady Franklin Bay expedition, and will proceed without 
delay from this city to St. John's, Newfoundland, via New York City, on the Cromwell 
line of steamers. 

2d Class Private Jose})h Palmarts, Signal Corps, U. S. Army ; Sergeant George W^ 
Wall, Company K, 3d Infantry ; and Privates Richard Rogge, Company H, 3d Infantry ; 
Henry Brinicomhe, Company C, 3d Infantry ; Joseph Dimson, Comiiany K, 18th Infantry ; 
Frauds Thoma, Company F, 5th Infantry; May Burnell, Troop M, 2d Cavalry; and 
James M. Bean, Company K, 11th Infantry. 

* ^ ^ '» --f ■ * -i^ 

By Command of General Sherman : 

R. C. DRUM, 

Adjutant-GeneraL 
Official : 

H. C. CORBIN, 
Assista7it Adjutant-Generals 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. J.. 

■ Received, 0. C. S. 0, Jun. 17, 1882. 



Chief Signal Officer. 



64 APPENDIX. 

(75.) 
fVol. 16, Mis. p. 361 : 3.177 Mia. 1882] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, June 18, 1882. 
Mr. Wm. M. Beebk, 

Saint John's, Newfoundland : 

.Sir : In reply to your letter of June 4th, the Chief Signal Officer instructs me to say 
the men named, enclosure "A," or such of them as have reported, will be directed to re- 
port to you to be guided by the following instructions, wherein, though you cannot 
lawfully be vested with powers of command, it is hoped you will have no difficulty of 
securing compliance by the use of your personal influence, supported by your official 
connection as disclosed by this letter. 

Dr. Hoadley will go up as medical officer, and you will find his association agree- 
able. 

You will not delay sailing beyond the time necessary to take iu the stores and that 
required to put the ship in serviceable condition. 

Your point of destination will be Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, where you will 
report to Lieut. Greely for his orders, and when the ship is ready to return you will 
bring back such dispatches, &c., as Lieut. Greely may entrust to you. 

If unable to reach Lady Franklin Bay you will establish the depots "A" & ''B," as 
requested by Lieut. Greely iu the memorandum which you have already been fur- 
nished. 

You will observe that these depots are to be established only in the event that it is 
impossible to reach Lieut. Greely. The supplies, therefore, under favorable circum- 
stances, all go to Lady Franklin Bay, and those stores which are needed to establish 
depots "A" & " B" are included. 

Capt. Clapi), who goes to New York with the stores, will arrange, as far as possible, 
for marking the packages so that they maybe separated and stowed at Saint John's, 
convenient for the depots, if it should become necessary to establish them. If he 
should be unable to complete this it should be done by your men at Saint John's. 

If you should be unable to reach Lady Franklin Bay, after establishing the depots 
you will return wuth the vessel and the remainder of her stores to Saint John's and 
report your arrival by telegraph. 

Three Nares' charts are sent you by Capt. Clapp, who will put them, with this let- 
ter, in the way of reaching you per Cromwell steamer. The mail for Lady Franklin 
Bay has been packed in a box and distinctly marked " mail," and will be found among 
the packages sent from New York. It should be specially cared for. Some additional 
liackages will be sent to the latest hour, care of U. S. consul at Saint John's. 

Exercise your discretion about the live stock; take what you can. There is no 
danger of an excess of dogs; twenty-five or thirty would not be too many, provided 
you secure sufficient dog-food. With regard to arms, the Chief Signal Officer thinks 
that you can probably get what you need in the ordinary equipment of the ship, but 
if this fails you are authorized to purchase what may be necessary. I am specially 
instructed to convey to you in Gen'l Hazen's name his high appreciation of the intel- 
ligent service you have rendered in securing those things which were needful at 
Saint John's, the vessel, her captain, ice-master, and crew, and the supplies necessary 
to complete Lieut. Greely's outfit. 

Please convey to the U. S. consul in advance of the Genl's personal assurance his 
thanks for the the kind services rendered in this and former years. 
Yours, verv respectfully, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
-- Ist Lieut, 'id Artillery, Acting Signal Ojjficer. 

Inclosed with above communication was copv of Par. 1, G. O. No. 14, O. A. G. O. 
June 17, 1882. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 65 

(76.) 
[Vol. 16, Mis p. 359.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

JFashington, June 18, 1882. 
1st Lieut. A. W. Greely. 

oiA Cavalry, A. S. O. ^' Asst, Station Conger, Grinnell Land : 

Sir: The Chief Sigual Officer instructs me to advise you that at this date all need- 
ful preparations have been made for your supply for another year, and that the men 
and stores will leave New York by the Cromwell steamer of the 2'2d inst., and will be 
transferred on their arrival at St. John's, Newfoundland, to the steamer "Neptune." 

It was intended to send you seven men besides Palmarts, of this service, but only 
four have so far reported, and the sailing of the ship will not be delayed if the others 
fail to report. These men are sent only to replace those who have become unfit for 
further service, and are not to be used to increase the original strength of your party 
numerically. 

The supplies have been furnished in full of your requisitions, and your instructions 
as to the establishment of depots if the ship is unable to reach your station will be 
fully complied with. It will be important to know, after your experience of a year, 
exactly what stores will be required for next year's supply and whether any stores 
have been supplied in excess of your wants or have fallen short, and what, if any, 
changes are desired in their preparation or packing. Everything will be done to 
make your outfit such as shall most perfectly meet your needs, and furnish everything 
essential to the highest sanitary condition of your command. 

An appropriation for thirty-three thoiisand dollars, covering in terms the supply of 
your party and that at Point Barrow, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, has already 
passed the House and will doubtless go through the Senate. Next year estimates 
will be made on the same basis, but will be subject to correction and explanation 
when we shall have received your letters. 

The Chief Signal Officer desires me to assure you of his continued full confidence, and 
he feels the greatest interest in your personal welfare, in the welfare of all the members 
of your party, and in the success of your expedition. He desires that the work under- 
taken shall conform to the plans originally communicated to you, and at the same 
time you should have all possible discretion in the manner of its execution. Mr. 
Beebe will conduct the party and supplies from St. John's, and will return with the 
vessel. He will explain to you in detail some few additions which have been made 
to increase your comfort. 

Conscious of your strong desire to afford succor to the crew of the Jeannette, if she 
should have pursued a course to the eastward, the certainty of her fate, now well 
known, as you will learn through the public prints, will relieve the Chief Signal Offi- 
cer the anxiety which he has felt lest, with a view to affording them relief, you should 
unhappily have encountered any misfortune yourself. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillei'y, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(77.) 
[Vol. 17, p. 281, C. S. O., 3130 Mis. 82.] 

War Department, 
(Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 19, 1882. 
Dr. F. H. HoADLEY, 

Surgeon to the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition : 
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that in addition to your medical duties with 
the Lady Franklin Bay expedition you will be expected to make such observations 
on the geology and ethnology of the country as your opportunities may permit, mak- 
ing as full collections as possible, which should be forwarded to this office by every 
possible chance or medium of communication. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 5 



66 



APPENDIX. 



Upon your return you will be expected to prepare a full report of your natural his- 
tory work for publication by this office, and you will receive from the National Mu- 
seum a series of the specimens collected and forwarded here by you. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Copy furnished Prof. S. F. Baird, Sec'ry Smithsonian Institution, 6-19, '82. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(78.) 



[Telegram— Vol. 17, pg. 326, C. S. O., Camp. T. &. B. L., 3212 Mis. 82.] 

Washington, June 21, 1882. 
To Captain Clapp, 

Stwrtevant House, New York City : 
Buy six oars. Stores left yesterday to arrive Thursday morning. Look out for 
freight-handlers' strike that it does not delay delivery. 

HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Nov. 9, '83. - Chief Signal Officer. 



(79.) 
[Vol. 16, Mis., p. 368.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, June 21, 1882. 
Capt. W, H. Clapp, 

16i/i. Infantry, A. S. 0., New York : 
Sir : The CLief Signal Officer instructs me to say, in answer to yours of the 19th 
inst., that he is gratiiied that you tind everything in New York concerning the sup- 
ply expedition to Lady Franklin Bay in a forward state of preparation. He desires 
you to remain until the shipment of the stores is completed and the sailing of the 
steamer, and to advise him at once if any of the men fail to I'eport at time of sailing. 
Telegraphic correspondence with Gen'l Terry has just developed the fact that two 
of the men are not ordered to report by the Adjutant-General of the Army; apparently 
by clerical mistake, and by oversight in the case of the man ordered to replace the 
deserter. It would now occasion serious embarrassment should any of the party 
abandon the expedition. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer: 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officet'. 



(80.) 



[Telegram— vol. 17, p. 310, C. S. O.] 

Washington, D. C, June 21, 1882. 
Beebe, 

U. S. Consulate, St. John's, N. F. : 
Alhambra sailing delayed till twenty -six ; everything by her. 

HAZEN. 
Official copv from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offlcer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 67 

(81.) 
[Vol. 16, Mis., p. 371.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

WasMngton, June 21, 1882. 
Lieut. A. W. Greely, 

bth Cavalry, Acting Signal Officer, 

ComWg Expedition to Lady FranTclin Bay : 
Sir : I am directed by the Chief Sigual Officer to iuform you that in addition to 
the five enlisted men who have left this city to join the expedition under your com- 
mand three others have volunteered, and their detail has been requested, but tip to 
this hour they have failed to report. 

Should they yet do so in time to reach St. John's before the vessel leaves they will 
be sent forward. 

They are Private Henry Brinicombe, Co. C, 3d Infantry, Private Joseph Dimson, 
Co. K, 18th Infantry, and Private James N. Bean (or Bane), Co. K, 11th Infantry, as 
will be seen from the enclosed order. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
\st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Note. — The inclosed order was a copy of S. O. No. 140, par. 1, War Dept., A. C O., 
dated June 7, 1882. 

Official copy respectfully furnished for the information of Mr. Wm. M. Beebe, St. 
John's, Newfoundland. 

Official copy from the records of the Sigual Office. 

•W. B. HAZEN, 



Nov. 9, '83. 



Chief Signal Officer. 



(82.) 
[Vol. 16, Mis., p. 368.] 

• War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

WasMngton, June 21, 1882. 
Lieut. A. W. GreelYj 

5th Cavalry, Acting Signal Officer, Com'd'g Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay : 
Sir : By direction of the Chief Signal Officer I enclose herewith copies of the de- 
scriptive lists of the enlisted men named below, who have been ordered to join the 
expedition under your command : 

Sergeant Geo. W. Wall, Co. K, 3d Infantry. 
Private Rich'd Rogge, Co. H, 3d Infantry. 
. Private Francis Thoma, Co. F, .5th Infantry. 
Private Joseph Palmarts, Signal Corps. 

The descriptive list of Private May Burnell, Troop M, 2d Cavalry, who has also re- 
ported and has been ordered to report to you, has not been received. He has been 
paid, however, four months in advance, and a copy of his descriptive list will be sent 
you at the earliest opportunity. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
\st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official cor»y from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



68 APPENDIX. 

(83.) 
[Vol.17, p. 305, C.S.O.] 

War Department, . 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 21, 1882. 
To the Adjutant-General of the Army: 

Sir: Eeferriug to your telegram of May 25tli to the Commanding General, Depart- 
ment of Dakota, directing certain enlisted men, who are named, to report to the Chief 
Signal Officer, not later than June 15tli to proceed to Lady Franklin Bay with the 
relief expedition which is about to start for that point. I have the honor to report 
that up to this date hut four of these men have reported, viz, Srgt. Geo. W. Wall, 
Co. K, "d Infty.Prt. Richard Eogge, Co. 1, 3d Infty.Prt. Francis Thoma, Co. F, 5th 
Infty, Prt. May Bnrnell, Troop M, 2d Cav'y. Private Daniel Mueller, Co. D, 11th Infty, 
having deserted, Prt. Jas. N. Bane, or Bean, was recommended in his place by General 
Terry, in his telegram to the Adjutant-General, dated May 29th. 

On the 19th inst. a telegram was sent from this office to Gen'l Terry (copy enclosed 
herewith), informing him of the failure of the three remaining men to report, and ask- 
ing their whereabouts. 

A copy of his telegram in reply is herewith enclosed. 

The men who have not reported are Private Henry Briuicombe, Co. K, or Co. C, 3d 
Infty, Private JosephDimson, Co. K, 18 Infty, and Private James N. Bane, or Bean, 
Co. K, 11th Inft. Private Dimson is reported by General Terry as having left Assiui- 
boiue May 30th for Washington, but not having reported, he has jtossibly deserted. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^' Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



[Telegram.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 19, 1882. 
Brig. Gen. A. H. Terry, 

Hdqrs. Dept. Dakota, Fort SnelUng, Minn.: 
Privates Briuicombe, Dimson, and Bean, detailed for Lady Franklin Bay expedi- 
tion, have not reported. Should be here to-day. Can you give me their whereabouts. 

HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(84.) 
[Telegram— Vol. 17, p. 333, C. S. O. 3248 Mis., 82.] 

Washington, June 22, 1882. 
To Beebe, 

St. John's, Newfoundland : 
Whale-boats go from New York. Vessel delayed sailing till twenty-sixth. 

HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Siqnal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. * 



(85.) 
[Telegram, received at June 22, 1882, from St. John's, N. F., 22—3248 Mis., 82. J 

To Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, Washin., D. C. : \ 

Instructions regarding depots and purchase additional stores received. How about 
whale-boats. 

BEEBE. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 



69 



(86.) 
|Vol. 16, Mis., p. 373. 3212 Mis., 1882.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, June 22, 1882. 
Capt. W. H. Clapp, 

I6th Infantry, A. S. 0., Sturtevant Mouse, New York City : 
Sir : I am instructed by the Chief Signal Officer to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 20th 5nst., and in reply to say that he approves the precautions 
taken, especially with the casks, and has directed by telegraph the purchase of six 
pairs of oars. 

It appears now, through telegraphic correspondence with Gen'l Terry, that Brini- 
combe and Beau were not properly ordered by telegraph from the Adjutant-General's 
Office. 

The third man missing has probably deserted, as the time elapsed since he left his 
station has been sufficient for him to have reached here, allowing time for considerable 
delay en route. It is now too late, in the opinion of the Chief Signal Officer, to get 
either Brinicombe or Bean, and the men who have now reported to you, viz : 
Sergeant Geo. W. Wall, Co. K, 3d Infantry. 
Private Rich'd Rogge, Co. H, 3d Infantry. 
Private May Burnell, Troop M, 2d Cavalry. 
Private Francis Thoma, Co. F, 5th Infantry. 
Private Joseph Palmarts, Signal Corps, U. S. A., 
are all who will join the expedition. Mr. Beebe has been informed, and also Lieut. 
Greely. 

I am, very respectfu , your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(87.) 



[3244 Mis. 1882, Vol. 16 Mis., p. 372.] 

War Department. 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, June 22, 1882. 
Dr. F. H. HoADLEY, 

Surgeon to the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, New York City : 
Sir : In addition to the instructions contained in letter of 19th inst., from this of- 
fice, directing you to make a report upon and a full collection of the geology and eth- 
nology of the country, the Chief Signal Officer directs that you shall make similar ob- 
servations and collections relative to th6 zoology and botany of the region, 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
Is* Lieut 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Note. — Copy furnished Professor Baird, Smithsonian Institution, this day. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Officer. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Nov. 9, '83. Chief Signal Officer. 



(88.) 
[Telegram. Vol. 17, p. 357, C. S. 0., 3267 Mis., 82. J 

Washington, June 23, 1882. 
To Gen'l Terry, 

Fort SnelUng : 
Bean and Brinicombe will be too late unless they reach here by afternoon twenty- 
. sixth inst. If this is impossible they should not start. 

Hazen. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Nov. 9, '83 Chief Signal Officer. 



70 APPENDIX. 

(89.) 
fTelegram. "Vol. 17, p. 357, C. S. O.J 

Washington, June 23, 1882 
To Beebe, 

St. Jolin^s, Newfoundland : 
Money lias been appropriated, serve notice on owners of the "Neptune." 

Hazen. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Nov. 9, '83. Chief Signal Officer. 



(90.) 
[Telegram. Vol. 17, pg. 356, C. S. O., 3285 Miss., '82.] 

Washington, June 23, 1882. 
To Capt. Clapp, Sturtevant House, New York : 

Beebe reported neither bricks nor suitable lumber at St. John's. He was to pur- 
chase three thousand boards, fourteen-foot lengths; fifteen hundred feet flooring, in 
fourteen-foot lengths; fifteen hundred best pine boards for repairing boats; thousand 
two-by-four scantling ; one thousand two-by-six scantling ; five hundred two-by-eight 
scantling — all kiln-dried and mill-dressed — and one thousand bricks. 
Purchase and ship. Acknowledge. 

HAZEN. 

Note. — Copy of above sent examiner and P. and D. officer. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(91.) 

[Telegram. Received at June 23d, 1882, 1.20 p. m., from St. John, N. F., 23—3285 Mis., 1882.] 

To Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, WasWn : 

Neither bricks nor suitable lumber here ; better purchase New York ; everything 
else here. 

BEEBE. 

Official coj»y from the recoids of the Signal Office. 

W, B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(92.) 
[Telegram. Vol. 17, p. 377, C. S. O.] 

Washington City, June 24, 1882. 
To W. Beebe, {Care U. S. Consul, St Johns, N. F.) : 
Purchase twenty -five pounds powder, if you have not already. 

HAZEN. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal O^cer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. * 71 

(93.) 
[3251 Mis., 1882 ; Vol. 16; Mis., p. 378.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, Jime 24, 1882. 

Captain W. H. Clapp, 

\Qth Infantry, A. S. 0., Sturtevant House, Neiv York City: 
Sir : The Chief Signal Olficer desires you to reiiort the marks on the package of 
powder which it will be impracticable to ship to St. John, by the Cromwell line of 
steamers, together with information of what depot it was sent from, in order that ap- 
plication may be made to the Chief of Ordnance for its return to the depot. 

If you find that the ordnance officer at New York can give the requisite orders, 
please apply for them. Beebe has been instructed to purchase powder at St. John's, 
by telegraph of this date. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

CMef Signal Officer. 



(94.) 
[Vol. 17, pg. 413, C. S. 0. 1 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 21, 1882. 
To the Quartermaster-General, U. S. Army: 

Sir : I have the honor to return herewith orders and transportation from this city 
to St. John's, Newfoundland, via New York City, in the cases of Privates Bean, Dim- 
son, and Brinicombe. 

Owing to an oversight on the part of the Adjutant-General's Office, Privates Bean 
and Brinicombe were not detailed until too late to go with the Lady Franklin Bay 
Supply Expedition, and private Dimson has failed to report at this office. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, JJ. S, A. 



(3 end.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(95.) 
[Telegram. Eeceived at Wash'n June 27tli, 1882, 6.55 p. m., from St. John's, N. F., 27-3361 Mis., 1882.] 

To Hazen, C. S. 0., Wash'n: 

How many men coming — how many tons space for supplies — shall we take extra 
coal ? 

BEEBE. 
Official copy from the records at the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
■ Nov. 9, '83. 



72 ' APPENDIX. 

(96.) 
[3,464 Mis., 82.] 

St. John's, Newfoundland, June 27, 1882. 
The Chikf Signal Officer, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, on the 23d instant, of your com- 
munications, as follows : 

One dated June 6th, directing the purchase in St. John's of certain ai'ticles of sup- 
plies ; one of June 7th, enclosing a copy of Lieut. Greeley's letter of August 17th, '81, 
containing suggestions regarding the establishment of supply depots in the event of 
the supply-ship this year failing to reach Lady Franklin Bay. 

In compliance with your instructions therein contained, the receipt of both these 
communications w^as at once acknowledged by telegraph. You were also informed by 
the same means of my inability to secure suitable lumber or brick at this point, your 
reply to which, informing me that the deficiency would be supplied in New York, I 
have also to acknowledge. All the remaining articles eniimerated in your letter of 
the 6th have been purchased or ordered, and will be in readiness before the arrival of 
the " Alhambra." 

Yours dated June 9th, enclosing a copy of the letter of June 7th, relative to the ob- 
servations to be taken on the voyage, and directing me to turn over to the same to 
the caj)tain of the vessel, with the request that they be carried out as far as may be 
practicable, is received. Also one of June 15th, relative to the purchase of 25 lbs. 
sporting powder, which has been complied with; and one dated "June 9th," signed by 
the Acting Chief Signal OiUcer, directing that all communications addressed to the 
Chief Signal Officer should be sent by mail. 

All the articles purchased here, including those contained in the first list furnished 
me, have been carefully selected, and the workmanship of such as have been manu- 
factured has been zealously watched, and will be first-class. 

The "Neptune," which return on the 25th from the dock, has been thoroughly exam- 
ined and overhauled, and is pronounced in excellent shape for the voyage. No tinie 
will be lost, after the arrival of the stores from New York, in getting away. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr., 
Private Gene^-al Service, U. iS. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(97.) 
[Telegram. Vol. 17, Pg. 432, C. S. O.] 

Washington, June 28, 1882. 
To Beebe, St. John's, N. F. : 

Doctor and (5) five men — one hundred tons. No extra coal. 

HAZEN. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(98.) 



[Telegram.— Vol. 17, Pg. 431, C. S. O. 1 

Washington, June 28, 1882. 
To Beebe, St. Johnh ^Newfoundland : 

Notify Greely that fifteen hundred dollars will be to his credit with assistant 
treasure, New York. 

HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 73 

(99.) 

[ VoL 17, Pg. 430, C. S. O.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington. City, June 28, 1882. 
Lieut. A. W. Greely, 5th U. S. Cavalry, 

Com'd'g Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, Fort Conger, Griunell Land,c. o. W. M 
Beebe, jr.. General Service, U. S. Army, St. John's, Newfoundland, via Halifax 
and Nova Scotia, per steamer " Alhambra." 
Sir : Enclosed herewith please find invoices and receipts in duplicate for $1,575, 
transferred to your credit with the assistant treasurer U. S. at New York, the latter 
of which you are requested to sign and return to this office by returning steamer. 
Transfer to be made immediately appropriation available. 
Very respectfully, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. aen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(100.) 
[3780, 0. C. S. O., Mis., 1882.] 

St. John's, Newfoundland, 

July 6ih, 1882. 
The Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : I have respectfully to report the safe arrival of the men and supplies per 
steamer "Alhambra." 

My letters and later orders came by the "Allan Line " steamer, and I am unable 
in the haste of preparations for departure to acknowledge in detail. Everything, 
however, seems complete. 

The supplies for Depots " A'' & '' B" have been selected from the stores and stowed 
where they will be accessible. 

I deem it desirable to protect them by thoroughly impervious tarpaulins, which I 
must purchase here. 

Your orders have been observed as closely as circumstances would admit. 

Owing to the uncertainty of the cost 6f articles to be purchased in Greenland, I have 
accepted the kind ofter of the U. S. consul to advance money for such additional 
expenditure as has been found necessary here. I trust that every elfort will be made 
to expedite the payment of all these claims, as the success of the next year's supply 
expedition may largely depend upon this. The stores purchased from J. & W. 
Stewart are first class in quality and manufacture. Their receipted bills with 
vouchers are forwarded by this mail. 

The fresh vegetables were ordered and promised. Nothing but the potatoes are in 
good condition. I have therefore taken the liberty of increasing the amount of pota- 
toes in lieu of parsnips and turnips. It is regarded not expedient to take live-stock, 
as proper stowage and protection cannot be supplied, and dogs taken on board at 
Greenland would cause trouble. 

Any failure to report details at this time is owing to earnest desire to get away as 
soon as possible. Disci'epancies will be supplied in final report. 

Should we be successful — as everything seems to indicate — I will call at the north- 
most telegraph station upon our return and apprise you, provided, of course, that 
such delay will not entail extra expenses upon the Govei'nment. 
Very respectfully, your obed't servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
■ Nov. 9, '83. 



74 APPENDIX. 

(101.) 

[Telegram. Received at July 7, 1882, from Saint Johns, N, F., 7.-3548 Mis., 82.] 

To Hazen, WasVn : 

Everything aboard — all well — sail Saturday morning eight o'clock. 

CEESE. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(102.) 
[5296 Mis. 82. 



S. S. "Neptune," off Greenland Coast, 

75 MILES South from Disco, 

July 17th, 1882. 

My Dear General : First permit me to make my excuses for failing to write you 
personally after the arrival of the men and supplies at St. John's, unless the letter 
that was partly finished was sent in the hurry and confusion of my depai'ture. We 
all felt that we were already late, and I was anxious to get away and did not take 
time to write a social letter even to my friends at home. 

Finding the discomforts of the forecastle so great, and that the men could all be 
made comfortable in the cabin staterooms, I assigned them berths there — with Dr. 
Hoadley 's consent — easily prevailed upon the owners to provide mattresses and blankets ; 
and they have in fact all the privileges of first-class passengers, excepting that they 
have a second table. The fare, however, is nearly the same, in the provision of which 
the Job Brothers were exceedingly liberal, furnishing us up to this date fresh beef, 
hams of good quality, good bread, pickles, canned fruits, vegetables, preserves, etc., 
etc. 

We left St. John's, as yoti already know, on Saturday, 8th inst., just as a shower set 
in, which soou turned into a blinding rain. For the first four days I was very seasick, 
and although the ship rolled heavily and shipped so much water that it was found neces- 
sary to lash the deck load, lumber, etc., I was in that enviable frame of mind that I 
did not care whether we floated or sank, rather preferring the latter. At 2 a. m., 
July 13th, we encountered extensive ice-fields directly in our course, extending to the 
eastward and westward as far as the eye could reach. A dense fog came down upon 
us at the same time, and we picked oui' way wearily through it,';keeping[our true course 
as nearly as possible until noon, when we found open water to the westward. Dis- 
tance during past twenty-four hours only 65 (n^autical) miles ; lat. 61° 3' N. ; long. 54° 
9' W. ; true course N. 40° W. 

About noon we again entered heavy floe-ice, and worked our way northward pain- 
fully, the good, strong ship receiving many a shock that made her tremble and recoil, 
and which wovild have gone through a trans-Atlantic steamer from stem to stern. 
Here Norman's work began to tell, and from his lofty perch in the " cro' nest" he 
picked out the most practicable route, getting us forward as rapidly as possible. 
Finally, however, it became so foggy, and the ice appeared so formidable (thicker 
and heavier and more comjiact), that it was deemed unsafe to proceed ; so we tied up 
to a large field, aud several of us went ashore (?) and had a good run on the ice. At 
3 a. m. (the 15th), the fog having lifted a little, we unmoored and again began our 
struggle, working slowly to the northward through thick fog and rain. Towards noon 
it began to clear, aud at noon we cleared the ice — once more steamed ahead at full speed 
for the first time in seventy hours. Nothing eventful, or to interfere with our pro- 
gress. We have encountered but very few icebergs since leaving the floe which ex- 
tends north to the turn in the current which I will explain later on. Lat. 62° 56' N., 
long. 55° 15' W. 

There is a strongS. westerly current setting down between Iceland and Greenland, 
curving around Cape Farewell in a N. w'ly directing, until reaching lat. 65°, or there- 
abouts, it trends more to the westward until it meets and enters the strong current set- 
ting south \yard along the east coast of Labrador, curving around the east coast of New- 
foundland, and mingles with the Gulf Stream. Last year Davis' Straits was peril- 
ously filled with icebergs ; this year there but few. My theory, and all the officers 
of the ship agree with me, is this, that the unusiial number of icebergs which have 
been passing Newfoundland since the middle of December are the same which were 
formed from the glaciers on the west coast of Greenland, and floating south and west- 
ward, under the easterly winds which have prevailed in this region since last year, until 
they entered the Gulf Stream by the course before described. The field-ice which we 



APPENDIX. 75 

eiicounterefl was doubtless formed last winter on the Iceland coast — has been borne by 
this same current to its present location, and now extends from a point about 270 
miles due west from Cape Farewell, lat. hO° W north, long. 52° 40' west, as far to the 
northward as lat. 65^ degrees, where it will follow the N. w'y current before described, 
and follow the route of the icebergs before described, until it finally disappears in the 
Gulf Stream, should it last so long. Many of the fields or " pans" are already grown 
thin, and but few of the more solid and larger pieces will last so long. 

This is, of course, crude and hastily written. I have studied and thought much on 
the subject even before your letter, but it is only since I have discovered the course 
of these currents that I feel secure in this theory. Of course the formation of the ice- 
bergs is familiar to all who have taken even small pains to inquire into the subject. 
These huge glaciers by some force of nature far inland, probably by their own weight 
are constantly pressing them forward and downward to the sea, where, by their own 
gravitation probably, huge masses, varying in size and form' are broken ofl^ and 
launched as icebergs. Of course you understand this formation subject. You can 
form and launch them yourself, but, so far as the presence of the " bergs" in the At- 
lantic this season is conformed, I ahi well satisfied of the correctness of mj^ theory re- 
garding their place of origin and the route they followed in their journey to the 
Atlantic. 

I shall continue to sbudy the subject, and will embody all in my ofQcial report. In 
the mean time, thinking that probably no one who has been over this ground has pub- 
lished any theory on the subject, and that either you or Mr. Nelson could mould this 
meagre material into an acceptable article for the "New York Herald", it may be of 
use to you and a little pecuniary aid to me, as Mr. Bennett wrote me an autograph 
letter requesting me to send anything of interest to the "Herald". Of course I re- 
plied that I must send all to you, etc. If Mr. Nelson can work this up into present- 
able shape I will bring him home a nice skin of some kind (as I intend to do at all 
events). I shall need more money than will be due me when 1 return, for a new suit 
of clothes, for I was compelled to wear my best suit nearly out at St. John's. 

We are in sight of Disco Harbor — 3.30 p. m., St. John's time, and are about to fire 
one gun. I must there prepare to receive the governor. We anchored at 5.30 and 
shortly after I went ashore with Dr. Hoadley and the captain to pay our respects. 
Inspector Smith died about the first of May, and an act'g inspector is here from an- 
other settlement until Mr. Smith's successor shall have arrived. I found the temi- 
acks, jjart of the pants (the remainder are expected to-morrow), a small quantity of 
matak ; all the thongs needed — (the quantity ordered would last ten years the in- 
spector says). Seal-skin for dog-harness and dog-food all ready. No more matak can 
be procured at any price, and the inspector says it is of little or no account so long as 
the party has canned vegetables, preserves, or mulberries on hand — he could not tell 
me just the quantity on hand. The dogs can all be procured here, and as Norman says 
that the diseased dogs of last year all came from Upernavik, I am especially glad to get 
the number here. The cost will probably be somewhat greater than was anticipated, 
but the temiaks will cost $6.00 each instead of $10.00, as was estimated. He says he 
cannot take pay for the articles here, but is ordered to take my receipt and have the set- 
tlement made through the home Gov't. I shall so arrange as to make the settlement 
as simple as i)ossible if I can arrange with him to receipt vouchers. I am extremely 
sorry, but he is firm and we must have the stores. The first time in my life I ever 
saw a man or Gov't refuse money. I will at all events transmit officially a list of the 
stores purchased. The sleeping bags, I am sorry to say, cannot be obtained here, and 
he says cannot be obtained at all, as the skins suitable for their manufacture were all 
picked up and shipped previous to the reception of the order for their preparation. 
I will, however, report upon all this matter officially in a letter which I shall pre- 
pare to-morrow. 

I am much disappointed by the inspector's statement that we can hardly hope to 
reach our destination. He says that the last was an unusually severe winter here, 
the temperature falling to — 30° Centigrade = — 32 Far. We shall, however, do all 
that any one could do to reach them, and I am hopeful that we shall succeed. I can 
write more intelligently upon the subject after a talk with the inspector to-morrow, 
and will write fully. I can hardly realize that I am writing beneath a small skylight 
at 11.30 p. m. without an artificial light, and as easily as at noonday at home. 

July 19th. — We have entertained the governor and inspector on board, and I now 
close this unsatisfactory letter hastily. Have picked up some curiosities for you here, 
which it will delight me to present on my return. With respectful regards to Mrs. 
Hazen, I remain vours, staunchly, 

BEEBE. 

P. S. — Have no time to write home; the anchor is "apeak"; will you therefore 
kindly mail this to my father : W. M. Beebe, Hudson, Ohio, Summit County. 
Official copv from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Sif/nal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



76 APPENDIX. 

(103.) 
[5416 Mis., 82.] 

GoDHAVN, North Greenland, 

September llth, 1882. 
Mr. H. Knuhtsen, Acting Inspector, North Greenland, (througlithe goyernor o£ Disco.): 

Sir : In order that supplies, necessary for the expedition which will he sent next 
year by the United States Gov't to Lieut. Greelj^'s party (now at Lady Franklin Bay), 
may be in readiness upon the arrival of the sliip at this port early in July, I have 
respectfully to request that the following articles may be provided for, in anticipa- 
tion of the official request which will be made to the Danish Govei-nment by the Chief 
Signal Officer, U. S. Army : 

Twenty-six ('26) tern iaks, largest size. 

Forty-six (46) seal-skin pants, " " 

Twelve (12) sleeping bags, lined with dogskin and large enough for two (2) men of 
large stature. 

Five hundred (500) lbs. matak. 

Fifty (50) large-coil thongs, for traces and lines. 

Two (2) sledges, to be made strong and suitable for a severe journey. 

Two (2) reliable and skillful native drivers will be wanted. 

I make this request without official authority, but with the knowledge that the 
supplies above enumei-ated will be required and probably in larger quantities than I 
have specified. 

Permit me to thank you and the governor of Disco, personally, for your past kind- 
ness, and to assure you that your interest and kind aid will be highly apj)reciated by 
my Government. 

Very respectfully, your ob't sei-vant, 

W. M. BEJ:BE, Jr. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 

(104.) 

[5007 Mis., 1882.] 

(Telegram. Eeceived at S. O., Washn., Sept. 23d, 1882, 4.21 p. m., dated Tilts Cove, N. F., 23.)^ 

To Gen. W. B. Hazen, Wash'n : 

No channel through Smith Sound. July 29th encountered solid barrier extending 
from Cape Inglelield to lioss Bay. Highest latitude reached, seventy-nine twenty, 
August 10th ; northmost depot. Cape Sabine. Left Smith Sound Sept. 5th. New ice, 
four inches. Left dogs, lumber, dog-food Godhaven. Would like to keep them at 
St. John's until supplies are stored there to-morrow. All well. 

BEEBE. 
Tilt's Cove, JSr. F. 
64. Collect. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 

(105.) 

[Telegi'am. Vol. 20, S. C. S, page 109 ; 5007 Mis., 1882.] 

Washington, Sept. 24, 1882. 
To Beebe, St. John's, X. F. : 

Do whatever you think necessary to store the supplies and promptly discharge the 
vessel. 

Arrangements being made for your return transportation. 

HAZEN. 

. Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



APPENDIX. 



/ 



77 



(106.) 

[5035 Mis., 1882.] 

(Telegram. Eeceived at S. O. Sept. 25, 1882, dated St. John's, N. F., 25.) 

To Hazen, Wash'n : 

Do not understand. Shall I store o;oods here ? Shall men sail by Alhambra Thurs- 
day ? 

BEEBE. 

15. Collect. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



B. HAZEN, 

C hief Signal Officer. 



(107.) 
[Vol. 20, C. S. O., page 109.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Sept. 2bth, 1882. 
Commodore John G. Walker, 

Chief of Bureau of Navigation, U. S. Navy, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir: I have the honor to request that this office be furnished, if practicable, with 
the followincr charts, published by the United States Hydrographic Office : 
Series "A," Track Chart, North Atlantic. 
Sheets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. 
Series "B," Trade-wind chart, Atlantic Ocean. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Captain 6th U. S. Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer, U. S, A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(108.) 

[Telegram, Vol. 20, C. S. O., page 114-5035, Mis., 1882.] 

Washington, Sept. 25, 1882. 
To Beebe, St. Johns, N. F. : 

Understood you left dogs, dog feed, and lumber at Godhaven, would store supplies 
St. Johns, wanted men till stored. This all approved. Keep men till thoroughly 
ready to return. 
Carefully inventory supplies stored. If misapprehended, explain. 

HAZEN. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(109.) 

[5829, Mis., '82i] 

St. Johns, N. F., September 28th, 1882. 
To the Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army, 

Washington, D. C. : 
General : I have the honor to report that in obedience to orders contained in your 
letter of instructions, dated office of Chief Signal Officer, Washington, D. C, June 



78 « APPENDIX. 

18, 1882, 1 assumed charge of the men and supplies for Lieut. Greely's party, Discov- 
ery Harbor, Lady Frauklin Bay, Grinuell Land, upon their arrival on the "Alham- 
bra," from New York, on the morning of July 4th. 

These supplies and those ordered to be purchased at St. Johns were loaded on the 
" Neptune " with as little delay as possible, and the iiarty sailed at 1.30 p. m. on the 
8th. 

Your instructions regarding observations to be taken on the voyage were duly turned 
over to Captaiu Sopp of the " Neptnue," but as the instruments intended for this pur- 
pose could not be found, and as Captain Sopp evidently did not understand the nature 
of the obserA'ations ordered, I transferred the duty to Private Joseph Palmarts, Signal 
Corps. The results of his work with such instruments as the ship afforded from the 
13th of July until our return to St. Johns are herewith submitted, marked "A." 
They are the means of eight observations taken each day. 

During the first few days of the voyage heavy winds and a rough sea were experi- 
enced, and our party were confined to their berths by seasickness. On the morning 
of the I'ith the weather moderated and the sea went down rapidly ; since that time 
the health of all on board has been good. At 6.30 p. m. of the 12th, in lat. 55° 3' N., 
long. 51° 25' 45" W. we spoke the Hadson Bay Co. Steam Yacht "Diana," from London, 
England, to Uugava Bay, Labrador, requesting to be reported by the first return 
vessel. On the morning of the 13th July the first field ice was encountered 135 miles 
due west from Cai^e Farewell, lat. 60° N., long. 54° 50' W. The fields, though not 
large, were very heavy and solid. Undoubtedly this was the heavy winter ice, borne 
from the eastern coast of Greenland by the strong current which sets southward from 
about Iceland, turns to the westward and northward around Cape Farewell, and flows 
up the western coast of Greenland until in lat. (about) 67° N. it meets and mingles 
with the current from Baffin's Bay. These united currents set southward with great 
strength down the coast of Labrador, and trending eastward, pass around and down 
the eastern coast of Newfoundland and into the Gulf stream, carrying with them the 
immense icebergs launched from the numerous glaciers of West Greenland, and so much 
of the field ice as has survived the passage from Davis Strait. Our progress during 
the 13th did not exceed three miles an hour, but the ship gave evidence of her great 
strength, and her fitness for the work before her, breaking with ease and pushing aside 
the fragments of solid ice-pans. At 7.30 p. m., a dense fog having settled upon us, the 
ship was moved to a convenient ice-pan to await clearer weatlier. 

At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 14th the lines were cast oft", but it was evening 
of the 15th before the pack was finally cleared. During the day an American three- 
masted schooner was sighted standing in toward Holsteiuburg, and at 9 o'clock in the 
evening we came up with the American schooner " Concord," of Gloucester, Mass., at 
anchor, fishing for halibut, which are been taken in great numbers, and are of superior 
quality. 

We reached Godhaven at 5.30 on the evening of the 17th, and I went immediately 
on shore, accompanied by Dr. Hoadley and Captain Sopp, to pay our respects to the 
inspector. I report with regret the death on the 28th of May of Inspector Smith, 
whose interest in all American exijeditions to the arctic regions is well known to you. 
Mr. Kunthsen, the acting inspector, and the governor of Disco, Mr. Djurhuis, received 
us with great kindness, and during our stay did all In their power to aid in securing 
such articles required by Lieut. Greely as had not already been prepared in com- 
pliance with your request. The order for sleeping-bags had been received so late that 
material suitable for their manufacture could not be obtained, but through courtesy 
of the officials four (their individual property) were secured. All other articles 
ordered through the Danish Government had been collected in the quantities desired 
with the excei^tion of matok, of which but sixty-four pounds could be obtained, and 
this, as it afterwards proved, had not been thoroughly cured, so that notwithstanding 
the care given it, it soon becanie worthless. 

I was unable to comply fully with your orders to pay for all stores purchased in 
Greenland, as I have explained in a former brief report. 

We left Godhaven on the evening of July 20th, and on the morning of the 22d again 
meet field-ice, neither so heavy nor so firm as that previously encountered. The ship 
worked her way through it readily at half-speed. The weather was disagreeable 
with rain and sleet, but it cleared sufficiently at noon to enable the captain to ascei'- 
taiu our position, lat. 73° 4' N., long. 58° 39' W. During the afternoon the ice be- 
came firmer and more closely packed, and at 8 o'clock in the evening a blinding 
snow-storm came on. This rendered it impossible to pick our way through the chan- 
nels, and it was found necessary to again tie up to an ice-field, where we remained 
during most of the night. 

Fair progress was made during the morning of the 23d, but at 1 o'clock p. m. we 
were again stopped by ice, through which the ship could not be forced. It extended 
in our front to the horizon. During the afternoon a slight opening occurred through 
which the ship worked with difficulty, but at 8 o'clock in the evening we were again 
stopped and fairly "be set," being unable to move in any direction until mjdnight, 



APPENDIX. 79 

when tlie strong north wind again freed us and slow progress was made until 2.30 on 
the afternoon of the 24th, when in lat. 75° N., long. 60° W. we were again stopped. 
On the 25th, and until 7 o'clock a. m. the 26th, we remained helplessly drifting with 
the tides, within plain view of Cape York, with its numerous glaciers and the Crim- 
son Cliffs of Beverly. 

The weather had continued foggy, giving us only occasional glimpses of the sun, 
but on the 28th it became clearer, and for the first time the sun was seen shining 
brightly at midnight. 

Followed all day by half a gale of wind on the 28th, the ship made fair progress, 
passing Wosteuholm Island at 8 o'clock in the morning and Gary Islands about 7 in the 
evening. At 3.30 on the morning of the 29th Lyttleton Island was passed, but half 
an hour later I was called by Captain Sopp and infoi'med that we could go no further. 
Going at once upon deck, I found an unbroken ice barrier from 12 to 20 feet thick, ex- 
tending from Cape luglefield on the west across the sound to Eosse Bay and to the 
northern horizon, effectually checking our further progress. The ship, was therefore 
turned southwarcl, and looking in at Life Boat Cove and Port Foulke a comfortable 
anchorage was at length found in Pandora Harbor. This harbor, named by Sir Allen 
Young, is a beautiful bay shut in by the Crystal Palace Cliffs upon the south. Cape 
Kenrick on the north, and lower, less abrupt hills upon the eastward. During most 
weathers the anchorage would be a safe one, but during our staj^ there of a week, 
riding out of succession of S. westerly gales, much trouble was experinced, one anchor 
being lost and two heavy hawsers, warping the stern of the ship to the rocks, were 
parted. While here Sir Allen Young's record of the " Pandora " was found near the 
water's edge, where it had been washed down from the cairn upon tiie summit of a 
low point of rocks. This record, together with a copy of my own, which was left in 
the cairn,, is attached, marked " B." Game was fonnd in abundance ; Arctic hares, the 
eider duck, auks, and several varieties ot gulls, of which a two weeks' supply for all 
hands was brought in by the hunting parties and proved a auost acceptable change 
from the ordinary shiji's fare. Several reindeer were seen, but none were taken. 

On Monday morning, August 7th, the water casks were filled, and at 10.45 we re- 
sumed our way northward. Heavy ice Avas soon encountered, but the fields, which 
had been quite thoroughly broken by the southwesterly gales, were small and easily 
avoided, becoming larger and more compact, however, as we advanced, until at 9.45 
p. m. we were compelled to stop and tie up to a large floe of the northern point of 
Bache Island. The ice continued to close in upon us, rendering movement in any 
direction impossible, and on the morning of the 9th we found the ship fairly '' beset" and 
helpless, twelve miles from Victoria Head, the nearest point of land. Toward even- 
ing the larger fields closed in more rapidly, rendering our position extremely pei-ilous ;: 
the ship was raised bodily three feet, and the creaking of timbers and grinding of the 
ice as it pressed upon the sides were ominous sounds. Had it not been for the smaller 
and softer ice immediately about us, and which, crushed by the solid fields as they 
closed us in, formed a cushion underneath the hull, the strong ship must inevitably 
have been crushed. 

On Thursday, the 10th, we drifted a short distance northward, and reached the high- 
est point attained, lat. 70° 20'. We were twelve miles from Cape Hawkes and 17 
from Cape Prescott, the intervening ice being impassable for even an unincumbered 
man. The season was still young, and all on board were sanguine that a northerly 
wind would soon start the ice, and that Discovery Harbor might yet be reached. 

On the 11th the ice closed in more firmly, piling the broken fragments as high as 
the bulwarks. On the 12th the wjud subsided somewhat, and the ship once more 
rode i;pon an even keel, but still 3 feet above her proper level. At midnight I was on 
deck with the first mate, when a gentle crackling of the young ice attracted our at- 
tention, and by the bright sunlight we could see the water slowly trickling through. 
At 7 o'clock a slight opening was observed between the large fields which had held 
us fast, and with great difficulty the ship was forced into open water to the south- 
ward. So great a power was found necessary to force our way that the boiler was 
overstrained and sjirang a leak. This added greatly to our anxiety. 

Your attention is respectfully invited to the accompanying chart (marked "C"), 
made by Private Francis Thoma, 5th Infantry. It illustrates the- movement of the 
ship in our search for a practicable route. 

Upon reaching ojten water on the 15th of August, we stood across the sound to the 
eastern shore, but found no opening, and concluded to endeavor to secxire an auchor- 
age, from which to watch the movements of the ice, so that we might be prepared to 
take advantage of the first opportunitj' to reach Cape Hawkes at least, where I had 
determined to establish at once the depot "A," and leave the whaleboat specified by 
Lieut. Greeij^, which could be removed and taken further north, should opportunity 
occur. 

At one o'clock on the morning of the 18th a comfortable anchorage was found in 
Payer Harbor, lat. 7d° 42' N., long. 74'^ 21' W., between Cape Sabine and Brevoort 
Island, where the "Alert" and " Discovery" remained for a few days in 1875. 



80 APPENDIX. 

In a cairn on the summit of Brevoort Island Capt. Nares' record was found. It 
accompanies this paper (marked " D "). On a long, low island, near to and due west 
(true) from Brevoort Island, was found a small depot of provisions left by the "Dis- 
covery," and the accompanying statement of Captain Stephenson: 

The depot consisted of: 

1 hbl. canned beef in good condition. 

2 tins, 40 lbs. each, bacon in good condition, 

1 bbl, 110 lbs., dog-biscuit in good condition. 

2 bbls., 120 rations each, biscuit iu good condition. 

240 rations, consisting of chocolate and sugar, tea and sugar, potatoes, wicks, to- 
bacco, salt, stearine, onion powder, and matches. 

All in fairly good condition. 

Three (3) small casks that had contained rum and high wines were separated from 
the other packages, broken, and their contents evaporated or leaked out. There was 
also found the remains of an Esquimaux skin boat, or oomiak, utterly destroyed, the 
frame broken, aud bearing marks of the teeth of some large animal, while the rem- 
nants of skin remaining fastened to the keel bore similar evidences of having been 
destroyed by bears. 

The cache was rebuilt and made as secure as possible, marked ■by two oars found 
with the depot, placed upright in the rocks, and a record of the Neptune was placed 
in the cairn. A description of this depot and its position was afterwards left with the 
depot established on Cape Sabine. 

During the 21st and 22d ice was observed in small quantities passing down the strait, 
but a visit to the summit of Cape Sabine, which was accomplished after severe climb- 
ing, did not aftbrd much encouragement. 

However, as the ice, broken by the S. W. winds which had blown with considerable 
force for two days, seemed passing steadily down, I urged the captain to move out on 
the morning of the 23d. We started at 1.30 p. m., and found the western shore effect- 
ually blockaded above Cape Sabine, but standing to the eastward again found com- 
paratively open water in mid-channel, through which we worked our way to a point 
nearly due east from Cape Prescott, where heavy, unbroken ice, extending as far as 
the eye could reach to the northward, and from shore to shore, was encountered. 

I now determined to turn all my attention to efforts to land supplies and whale- 
boats as far north as possible. Lest, if it should be found impossible to reach land 
with the boats, I caused a large sledge to be made, which, loaded with the boats and 
stores, might be hauled by my party aud volunteers from the ship's crew ov^er the 
ice, if that should be practicable. 

Turning again to the westward when our progress to the northward had been 
checked, we stood along the unbroken edge of the solid ice, and at 10 o'clock p. m. 
were again nearing Cape Sabine, without having found a crack in the solid pack, 
while the entrance to Payer Harbor was blockaded. It was now necessary to find an 
anchorage as the S. W. wind, which had held in that quarter almost without interrup- 
tion since our arrival in Smith Sound, was increasing iu force and the ship was headed 
for Lyttleton Island. The captain was, however, not satisfied of the safety of the 
small harbor there, and declining to take soundings and seek an anchorage in Foulke 
Fiord (which Capt. Nares recommends as a winter harbor), continued down to Pan- 
dora Harbor. There were already many evidences of approaching winter. The vege- 
tation, bright and green on our departure on the 7th, was faded and brown; the 
flowers had disappeared ; the ducks had taken their departure southward, and the 
summits of Cape Kendrick and Crystall Palace Cliffs were covered with snow. 

Fully impressed with the great importance of establishing a depot as far north as 
Cape Hawkes, and fully satisfied that whatever was to be done must be accomplished 
quickly, we left Pandora Harbor at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the 25th, but at 
half-past nine were again brought to a check in the pack and compelled to tie up to 
an ice floe. During the 26th a little gain to the northward was made, but we were 
again checked by an impenetrable pack, forty miles from Cape Hawkes. 

The edge of the heavy fields of intervening ice crushing together with every change 
of wind and tide were tlirown up in huge irregular rifts, impassable, had they been 
stationary, even by the trained seal-hunters, who composed our crew. The idea of 
landing the stores by means of a sledge and boats was therefore abandoned. 

On the 27th we were able to move some distance to the northw^ard, again reaching 
a po'sition oft" Bache Island, but no nearer land than we had been before. The wind 
freshening from the N. W. the ship was made fast to the floe to await the opening 
which was confidently expected. Notwithstanding the direction of the wind, the 
larger fields, many miles in extent, moved westward against it, until coming in con- 
tact with the land, their course was changed to the westward until checked again by 
Cape Sabine and Brevoort Island. All the ice in Smith Sound seemed drifting 
bodily southward, and it was determined to stand across once more to the eastern 
side with the faint hope that a channel might be found where the fields had broken 
from the solid ice above and by which the western shore might be reached. 



APPENDIX. 81 

The ice was close in shore, and our course was again changed to the westward 
skirting the solid pack, the captain pushing the ship into every channel leading, 
toward Cape Hawkes Avith all the energy that could be desired. 

The western shore above Cape Sabine was unattainable, an d fearing that Lyttleton 
Island would soon be closed to us, I determined to establish the cache directed to be made 
there, while awaiting an opportunity to reach some point on the otherside. New ice 
was forming every uight, and the captain became anxious for the safety of the ship ; 
therefore, although determined to remain as long as there was the slightest hope of 
carrying out the letter of my instructious, aud ou retreating only when compelled by 
lateness of season, I was fully satisfied that we could remain but a few days longer 
in these waters. 

Ou the 28th there was a heavy S. W. wind and snow. At 7.45 p. m. we anchored 
oft'Lyttleton Island, and early on the morning of the 29th, the wind having subsided 
sufficiently to admit the lauding of a small boat, I went ou shore to select a place for 
the cache, when our presence was discovered by a party of Etah Esquimaux upon 
Cape Ohlseu. Crossing over, I found it to be a. hunting party of six men and three 
women, who desired to accompany us ou board the ship. 

Kegarding it unwise, if not useless, to land stores upon Lyttleton Island while the 
natives remained in the vicinity, and thinking that a landing might be effected on 
the opposite or northern end of the island at night without their knowledge, we again 
stood across the channel, and at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 31st succeeded in 
elfectiug a landing and establishing a cache upouCape Sabine, the northernmost land 
that had been attainable by us. The stores and whale-boat were placed in a shel- 
tered spot, well secured and covered by a tarpaulin, a tripod made of scantling, with 
an oar attached, to which pieces of canvas were well nailed, was placed upon a prom- 
inent point, showing well from the northward, and securely anchored with rocks, 
and in a cairn beneath was j)laced a record giving the bearing of the cache. A copy 
of this record is attached, marked *'E." A heavy N. E. gale coming on, we took tem- 
porary refuge under the lea of Cape Ohlsen, a comfortable and safe anchorage in a N. 
or N. E. wind. 

The Etahs paid us another visit and I determined, should it be necessary, and as a 
last resort, to take them to Pandora Harbor and leave them there. 

The gale continued unabated during the 1st, and until noon of the 2d of Septem- 
ber, when we left our anchorage for a final effort to get further north. Heavy field- 
ice was met off Cape Sabine, increasing in size and thickness as we proceeded, until 
the captain positively refused to penetrate further, and 8 o'clock in the evening made 
the ship fast to an ice-field. At 9 o'clock, new ice, cementing the broken iioes, had 
formed to the thickness of three inches. 

On Sunday, the 3d, we remained all day tied to the ice, shifting our position as 
safety from floating masses demanded, and ou Monday, the 4th, finding it impossible 
to advance, the new ice having increased to four inches in thickness, and the engi- 
neers having reported a leak in the boiler, which up to that time had been kept from 
my knowledge, I determined to establish the cache on Lyttleton Island without fur- 
ther delay. The natives still remaining on Cape Ohlsen, the stores were landed in a 
cove in the north end of the island so well concealed as to be invisible from any point 
a few yards distant and covered with a paulin, securely anchored down with rocks, 
and copies of a record with minute directions for findingthe stores, placed as directed 
in Lieut. Greely's letter of last year, two in the coal at the southern end of the island 
and one in Nares' cairn on the summit of the S. W. part of the island. A copy of 
this record is attached, marked "F." As a last resort the remaining whaleboat was 
placed on Cape Isabella, and its location marked by a tripod showing well to the 
northward. 

Should Lieut. Greely's party reach Cape Sabine next year, before the arrival of 
the relief ship, they will scarcely fail to find this boat. 

I then called a consultation, requesting an expression from Dr. Hoadley, Mr. Nor- 
man, and Captain Sopp, who were unanimous in the opinion that further delay was 
useless and extremely hazardous; that everything had been done that could be done 
to carry out your orders, aud that the safety of the ship and the lives of all on board 
demanded an immediate departure. At 11.40 on Tuesday night I gave a reluctant 
assent, and the voyage homeward began. 

No tield-ice was seen after leaving Smith Sound, but icebergs in great number and 
of unusual size were encountered in the vicinity of Cary Islands, and for two days 
after passing that point. We reached Godhaven on the evening of Sept. 8th, and 
satisfactory arrangements were made for leaving the dogs, dog food, and lumber. 
I made an unofficial request upon the acting inspector to have in readiness for next 
year's expedition such additional dogs as may be needed; also skin-clothing, two or 
more dog-sledges, and two native drivers, stating that an official request would be 
made through the Danish Government by the Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 6 



82 APPENDIX. 

A week's delay was found necessary by tlie captain for making repairs to the boiler^ 
taking on of ballast, and such refitting as was needed for the homeward voyage. 

Tiltcove, N. F., was reached on the 23d, where I telegraphed you of our safe arrival 
and the failure of the expedition, and on Sunday, the 24th, at 10.30 p. m., St. Johns 
was reached. 

Some delay was experienced in securing a storehouse, where the supplies would be 
safe from frost and vermin ; this was, however, finally secured and the stores landed, 
but transportation for all my party (including myself) having been ordered by the 
" Alhambra," I was compelled to leave St. Johns without receipts ; these will, how- 
ever, reach Washington by next mail. 

I take great pleasure in earnestly recommending that the services of Dr. Hoadley 
should, if possible, be secured for the expedition to be sent next year. In addition to 
his professional fitness he possesses physical strength and experience in travel which 
eminently qualify him for the duty. 

I also take pleasure in testifying to the good conduct and cheerful performance of 
duty by the enlisted men of the party, and recommend that they all be allowed to ac- 
company the next expedition. 

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Ofiice. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
NON. 9, '83. 



(110.) 
[Vol. 20, C. S. O., page 371-374.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, October 10th, 1882. 
The honorable the Secretary of War: 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith for your information a copy of the report 
of Mr. W. M. Beebe, to whose charge was entrusted the conduct of the supply expe- 
dition sent this year for Lieut. Greely's party at Lady Franklin Bay. 

The report is accompanied by a chart of that portion of Smith Sound and Kennedy 
Channel in which the vessel encountered ice which terminated her endeavors to pene- 
trate further north. While the full object of the expedition was not obtained, a depot 
of supplies (with which was left one of the two whale-boats carried) was made at Cape 
Sabine, the most northern point on the west shore of Smith Sound at which it was 
found practicable to land. A second depot was made at Littleton Island at a point 
selected by Lieut. Greely last year in the event of a failure to reach him. 

The remaining whale-boat was placed at Cape Isabella, directly opposite Littleton 
Island, and the expedition then returned. I am satisfied that all possible efforts were 
made to reach Lieut. Greely, which were defeated only by the uuusxial ice of last 
year's formation in Smith Sound and Kennedy Channel, and which formed an impene- 
trable barrier to further progress. This was a contingency not unforeseen when the 
original expedition started, and was provided against by a plan of action (copy here- 
with) which, as will be seen from the report, has been followed as closely as the con- 
dition of the ice would permit. This condition of the ice was found probable when 
the expedition had reached no farther north than Godhaven. 

There is not the slightest reason to suppose that Lieut. Greely's party is suffering, 
and no apprehension for its safety need be entertained. 

Attention is invited to the inclosed memorandum of subsistence stores taken by 
Lieut. Greely last year. 

In addition to these he is known to have secured a large supply of fresh meat from 
a herd of musk oxen, and at certain seasons arctic hares, ptarmigan, seal, and per- 
haps fish, are obtainable. He has abundance of oil for lighting, alcohol for use as 
fuel in sledging expeditions, and there are coal beds in his immediate vicinity. He 
also has his party comfortably and warmly housed and is well supplied with articles 
of arctic clothing ; from which it will be seen that he had on his arrival at Lady 
Franklin Bay more than a year ago over three years' supply of the best and most ap- 
proved kind of arctic use. Due allowance must be made for climate in calculating 
the time they will last. 

It will be observed from the report that while the depot "A" at Cape Sabine was not 
located as far north as was proposed or expected by Lt. Greely, iu the letter herewith, 
its location is a prominent one, and it isso placed that it cannot fail to be found in case 




S. EX,./il»_..,1, 



J 



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<i. 



'■tl 



'i 



\^ 



I 

f 



APPENDIX. 83 

a retreat south by the party becomes necessary. By further reference to Lieut. Greely's 
letter it will be seen that should the results next year be same as this, and the vessel 
sent be unable to get through the ice, it will be necessary for Lt. Greely to retreat by 
the ice to the vicinity of Life Boat Cove, near Littleton Island. 

At all events there must be no delay next year in sending an officer of character with 
a small party with dogs and every preparation to push on to Greely's Colony with 
sledges in case the channel is closed. 

A plan for this expedition of next year, with details as to men and supplies, will at 
an early day be submitted to you. 

The expedition of this year suffered no inconvenience from cold, the temperature at 
no time falling to zero Fahrenheit. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

(5 enclosures. ) 

Note. — Enc's were copies 5329 mis., 1882, and 3566 mis., 1881, mem. of subs, stores 
taken by Lt. Greely, chart of Smith's Sound, and papers found by party rel. to Alert 
& Discovery, H. B. M. S. S. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(111.) 

[Vol. 20, C. S. O., page 317.J 

War Department, 
Office Ohiep Signal Officer, 
Washington City, October 10th, 1882. 
To the honorable the Secrktary of War: 

Sir: I have the honor to report that the party sent with supplies for Lady Franklin 
Bay, returned here yesterday morning, having been unable to proceed beyond 79'^, 
20' north latitude on account of firm ice which has not broken up this year. 

The party, however, although not fully accomplishing what was hoped they would, 
has successfully and fully executed its purpose in accordance with the written direc- 
tions of Lieut. Greely in case of this contingency of solid ice, which was fully con- 
sidered and provided for. 

A more detailed report, with copies of maps of the ship's course, and the report of 
Mr. Wm. M. Beebe, who accompanied the expedition, will be sent as soon as they can 
be properly copied. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, V. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(112.) 

I 

[Vol. 20, C. S. O., page 327.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, October 11th, 1882. 
Mr. Thomas M. Molloy, 

U. S. Consul, St. John's, JSf. F. : 
My Dear Sir: lam informed that certain of the stores intended for Lady Frank- 
lin Bay, and which were warehoused in St. Johns on the return of the expedition, are 
liable to be damaged unless given special attention. Among these are : 
One box containing s ealskin clothing and two sleeping bags. 
One box containin g two sleeping bags. 



84 APPENDIX. 

One bundle of dog liarness. 
Several cases of raisins. 

I -will be under great obligation if you will cause tbese stores to be examined, aired, 
and otherwise cared for while they remain stored as at present, and will send bill 
covering charges therefor to this office, where it will be promptly paid. 

I take this occasion to express my thanks for your assistance, rendered to the expe- 
dition of this year as well as to that sailing in 1881. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^- Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 

(113.) 
fVol. 21, C. S. O., pages 53, 54, and 55.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, October 26th 1882. 
Honorable Carl Steen Andersen de Bille, Minister Resident and Consul Genen^al for 
Denmarlc, 2109 Pa. Avenue, Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : On December 5th, 1881, I had the honor to request that you w^ould obtain, 
through your Government, an order upon the proper officials in Greenland for the 
preparation of certain stores required for the relief expedition of 1882 to Lady Frank- 
lin Bay. 

The stores so requested were made ready and delivered when the relief ship touched 
at Godhaven in July last, and I desire to express my thanks for the prompt attention 
given to my request by you, and to the officials resident in Greenland. 

It is expected that a similar relief expedition will be sent in 1883, and I respectfully 
request that the following named articles may be ready for delivery at Godhaven on 
board the relief steamer, not later than July 10th, 1883 : 

40 pairs seal-skin pants, large size, and to be made of the skin of the pup seal. 
14 temiaks, large size, to be made of best seal skin. 
40 temiaks, large size, to be made of deer skin. 

Also two native dog drivers, skillful and reliable men, who can accompany expedi- 
tion and be j)repared to remain until the fall of 1884. 

Certain of these articles were informally requested of Mr. Knuhtsen, inspector at 
Godhaven, in a letter of Sept. 11th, 1882, written by Mr. W. M. Beebe, who commanded 
the expedition of this year, which request included other articles than those herein 
named, but which will not be required for the purposes of the expedition next year. 
The articles named in this letter are all that need be supplied. 
I remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 
One enclosure. 
Note. — The following is a copy of enclosure to above letter : 

Godhaven, North Greenland, September \lth, 1882. 
Mr. H. Knuhtsen, 

Acting Inspector North Greenland: 

(Through the Governor of Disco.) 

Sir : In order that supplies necessary for the expedition which will be sent next 
year by the United States Government to Lieut. Greely's party (now at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay) may be in readiness upon the arrival of the ship at this port early in July, I 
have respectfully to request that the following articles may be provided for in antici- 
pation of the official request which will be made to the Danish Government by the 
Chief Signal Officer U. S. Army : 

26 temiaks, largest size. 



APPENDIX. 85 

46 seal-skin pants, largest size. 

12 sleeping bags (line dwith dog skin and large enough for 2 men of large stature). 
500 lbs of matak. 

50 large coils tbongs for traces and lines. 

2 sledges, to be made strong and suitable for a severe journey. 
2 reliable and skillful native driv ers will be wanted. 

I make this request without official authority, but with the knowledge that the sup- 
plies above enumerated will be required, and probably in larger quantities than I 
. have specified. 

Permit me to thank yoii and the governor of Disco personally for your past kind- 
ness, and to assure you that your interest and kind aid will be highly appreciated by 
my Government. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. M. BEEBE, Jr. 

A true copy. 

Louis V. Caziarc, 

1st Lieutenant 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

OflScial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(114.) 
[Vol. 21, C. S.O., p.411.] 

War Department, Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, November 15, 1882. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : In June of this year certain supplies designed for the use of the Lady Franklin 
Bay party were transferred by Major Hawkins, C. S., to the depot quartermaster at 
New York City, for transportation to St. John's, N. F., and thence by the relief steamer 
to Lieut. A. W. Greely. 

As the expedition failed to get through, the stores pertaining to it were stored at 
St. Joha's for next year. Among these stores are 1,512 lbs. of butter, 1,020 lbs. of lard, 
20 (i) boxes raisins, and 400 lbs. pickled fish, all of which are liable to become injured 
if kept a year. The fish and raisins will no doubt become worthless. With a view 
to preventing loss, I respectfully request authority to select one of my own officers to 
take up these stores and then sell them at St. John's, turning the money into the 
Treasury. The remaining stores will keep perfectly good where they are, thus sav- 
ing the great and unnecessary expense of transporting a duplicate supply next spring. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offi,cer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



OOERESPONDENOE RELATING TO LADY PEANKLIN BAY BELIEF EX- 
PEDITION OF 1883. 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Nov. 9, 1883. 
Mag. Henry Goodfellow, 

Judge-Advocate, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir: I have the honor to send herewith, with list of enclosures attached, the prin- 
cipal correspondence relating to the Lady Franklin Bay relief expedition of 1883. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Major-General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Nov. 9, 1883. 
Major Henry Goodfellow, 

Recorder Court of Inquiry, Washington, D. C. ; 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith four (4) copies of letters from the files 
of this office, supplementary to those already sent. (Exp'd'n 1883.) 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. ^ Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

(Vol. 21, C. S. O., pp. 53-55, 1092 Mis., 1883; voL 28, C. S. O., p. 79; vol. 28, C. S. 
0., p. 97.) 



(115.) 
Expedition of 1883. 



Vol. 21, C. S. O., page 86, letters sent. 

« 24, " " 169, transcript from L. E. book, 6151 Mis., Nov. 8, '82, and 

end't. 

<' 21, C. S. O., page 301, letters sent. 

a 21 " " 412, 

« 22, '' " 344, " 

" 23, " " 191, 

" 23, " " 344, " / 

" 25, " " 172, " 

" 25, " " 273, " 

" 26, " " 10.5, " 

" 26, " " 107, " 

" 25, " " 464, '' 

" 26, " " 75, " 

" 26, " " 226, and indorsement of Sec. of War (2460 Mis., 1883) 

" 26, " " 274, letters sent. 

a 26, " " 341, " / 

" 26, " " 413, " 

'^ 26, " " 413, " 

3197 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
3168 " 1883, " 

(86) 



APPENDIX. 87 



Vol. 17, Mis., page 35, letters sent. 

" 17, " " 355, *' 

3166 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
Vol. 17, Mis., page 355, letters sent. 

" 17, " " 356, " 

" 27, C. S. O., " 229, '' 

" 27, " " 257, " 

" 18 Mis, " 179 " 

6689 Mis., '83,' letters received. 
Vol. 23, C. S. O., page 254, letters sent. 

" 23, " " 255, " 

«. O. 31, A. G. O. 
Memo. 4, O. C. S. O. 
1417 Mis., 1883. 
G. O. 17, A. G. O. 
S. O. 67, " 
S. O. 113, " 
S. O. 117, " 

L't Garlington's instructions, dated June 4, '83, & enoloaarea . 
S. O. 128, A. G. O. 
S. O. 129, " 

Vol. 17, Mis., page 369, letters sent. 
Vol. 23, C. S. O., page 311, letters sent. 



" 23, 


n 


- u 


310 


11 


" 23, 


i( 


u 


312 


<< 


" 24, 


4< 


(I 


441 


<( 


•' 25, 


t( 


%* 


171 


<< 


" 25, 


i< 


<1 


347 


<( 


" 25, 


u 


n 


367 


(< 


" 25, 


ii 


<i 


392 


>( 


" 25, 


(C 


(( 


414 


n 


" 17, 


Mis. 


<( 


354 


ti 


" 17, 


« 


11 


362 


it 


" 27, 


C. S. 0. 


<< 


298 


a 


Vol. 23, 


C. S. 0., 


page 139, 


letters sent. 


"24, 


(( 


It 


36, 


a 


"24, 


<< 


it 


294, 


a 


"25, 


<< 


ti 


2, 


it 


"25; 


(< 


tt 


173, 


ti 


^'25, 


(( 


it 


226, 


it 


"25, 


<( 


ti 


400, 


it 


"17, 


Mis., 


a 


277, 


It 


Vol. 17, 


Mis., 


page 367, 


. letters sent. 


" 27, C 


. S. 0., 


it 


298, 


<( 


"28, 


a 


it 


66, 


(I 


"30, 


u 


it 


15, 


(( 


Vol. 25, 


C. S. 0., 


paj 


?e 174, 


letters sent. 



3126 Mis., 1883, letter received. 
Vol. 17, Mis., page 352, letters sent. 

3363 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
3362 " 1883, " 

Vol. 27, C. S. O., 298, letters sent. 

3742 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
5997 " 1883, " 

Vol. 29, C. S. O., page 467, letters sent. 
5996 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
Vol. 18, Mis., page 116, letters sent. 
Vol. 29, C. S. O., page 473, letters sent. 
" 30, " " 15, " 

6059 Mis., 1883, letters received. 
Vol. 30, C. S. O., page 38, letters sent. 
" 18, Mis., " 133, " 

" 30, C. S. O., " 314, " 

" 30, " " 409, " 

Signal service notes No. 10. 



88 ^ APPENDIX. 

(116.) 

[Vol. 21, C. S. O., page 86.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, October 27, 1882. 
To the Commanding General Department of Dakota, 

Fo7'i Snelliny, Minn. 
(Tlirougli the Adjutant-General, War Department) : 
Sir : It will be necessary for this bureau to select without delay an officer to take 
charge of and a half a dozen men to compose an expedition to proceed next spring to 
Lady Franklin Bay, as relief to the Greely Arctic party, and I desire your special aid 
in selecting a suitable officer and men for this duty, to enable me to request the Sec- 
retary of War to authorize their detail. 

This will be an expedition requiring the very best manly character on the part of 
persons composing it, and it is for that reason I now ask your aid in fixing vi^on such 
persons. 

There should be no possible doubt of the character of the officer, who should possess 
manly qualities of the first order. Sobriety, high intelligence, unflagging energy and 
zeal, and with faculty to command, are but a part of these indispensable qualities. 

The men should be well known to possess high qualities, and in fact be selected by 
the officer. Sledging may be necessary. It has occurred to me that Major Hughes, 
from his personal knowledge, might name an officer who would most fully possess 
these requisites. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. 4- Bvt, Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Sig7ial Office)-. 
November 9, 1883. 



(117.) , 

[Vol. 24, C. S. O., page 169. ] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, November 1, 1882. 

The honorable the Secretary of War : ' 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith copy of plan for relief expedition of next 
year for the Arctic party at Lady Franklin Bay, which plan Lieut. Greely wished fol- 
lowed in the event of a failure to reach him this year. This seems to leave us only to 
follow his plans. 

Lieut. Greely must be supplied next year or must retreat southward with his party 
during the fall, but even in this event the relief party will still be indispensable. 

In sending the expedition next year every possible contingency must be provided 
for, and I request therefore your approval of this (Greely's) enclosed plan, which in- 
volves sending an officer and ten (10) men, with supplies for forty persons for fifteen 
months. It will also be necessary to send a medical officer, and Acting Assistant Sur- 
geon Hoadley, who accompanied the expedition of this year, has shown himself a most 
competent officer and is willing to serve next year. The expedition should leave St. 
John's, N. F., something earlier than this year, probably by June 15th, so as to take ad- 
vantage of all favorable conditions of the ice, and if possible reach Discovery Harbor. 
Should this not be possible, the vessels would laud the party and stores at Life Boat 
Cove and return southward. The party would then establish itself for the winter 
and endeavor to open communication with Lieut. Greely by sledges and assist him in 
Ms retreat from Lady Franklin Bay. It would not be expected that the station at 
Life Boat Cove would be kept up longer than August, 1884, when a vessel would bring 
the entire party away. Should the vessel sent in 1883 reach Lieut. Greely, and his 
party be furnished with the necessary supplies, it will be desirable that the station at 
Lady Franklin Bay be maintained at least one year longer, in order to realize the full 



APPENDIX. 89 

purposes for wliich it was originally established, and which are of the highest impor- 
tance. It is most desirable that the officer and the enlisted men who are to go next 
year be detailed as early as practicable, in order that they may be trained and have 
experience in rowing and managing boats, and in the use of boat compasses, and also 
that their personal outfit may be secured in time. In addition to the men of the line 
of the Army who are now iiuder detail for this duty (four in number) four others and 
one commissioned officer will be required from volunteers, and brought here for duty 
not later than February 1st, 1883, that they may be instructed and made ready for the 
expedition to sail in June, The remaining two men should be of this service and 
their names will be submitted in due time. It is desirable that men be selected whose 
service has been in the Northwest, and it is also important that the entire party, be- 
fore going, should be familiar with boats and their management under all conditions. 
I respectfully request your early and favorable consideration of these questions, and 
remain 

Your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Brig. ^- Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
Two enclosures. 

Note. — Enclosures were copies of Pvt. Thoma's chart of Beebe's voyage, and extract 
of 3566 Mis., 1881. (The chart referred to is a reproduction of that published in Sig- 
nal Service notes No. 5.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signul 0^cet\ 
November 9, 1883. 



(118.) 

[Nov. 8, 1882. 6151. "War Dep't. 2 enclos. Transcript from letters received book.] 

Washington, Nov. 1, 1882. 
Eeturns copy of plan for relief expedition of next year for the Arctic party at Lady 
Franklin Bay. It seems that it would be much more desirable to endeavor to procure 
from the Navy the persons who are needed for this relief party. Requests views of the 
C. S. O. on the subject. 

[2d endorsement.] 

Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, Nov. 8, 1882. 
Respectfully returned to the honorable the Secretary of War, the matter referred 
to having been very carefully considered. To change the full control of this duty 
now would be swapping horses while crossing the stream, and when in the middle of 
the stream. To manage it with a mixed control, or even with mixed arms of the serv- 
ice under a single control, would be hazardous, and such action is strongly advised 
against by the many persons of both Army and Navy I have discussed the subject 
with. The ready knowledge of boats and instruments is but a very small part of the 
indispensable requisites in this case. This whole work has required a great deal of 
attention and study from the first, and I have not a doubt but any transfer of control 
now would result in failure to convey all the threads of this half finished work, and 
that it would work disastrously in many ways. 

In view of these facts, I would consider the transfer now of any part of this work 
to any other control as very hazardous and without any apparent promise of ad- 
vantage. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt, Maj. G-eri'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. _ 

If it is proposed to assign 6 privates of the Marine Corps, and they can be selected 
with a certainty of getting the proper men, it would be satisfactory. But the officer 
to go with them should, without fail, be selected in a way that would leave no pos- 
sible doubt in my mind of his efficiency, which I can but have only by such means of 
selection as in the Terry letter. 

W. B. H. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officei\ 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



90 APPENDIX. 

(119.) 
|Vol. 21, C. S. O., page 301.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, November 10, 1882. 
To the Adjutant-General, 

War Department: 
Sir : I liave the houor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instaiit, 
returning communication from this office of October 27 ult'o, addressed to the com- 
manding-general Department of Dakota. 

The enclosed letter is substituted for that which is considered objectionable, but re- 
quires the following explanation : The letter previously sent was intended rather as 
a suggestion than as an attempt to use the Adjutant-General merely as a channel of 
communication. It was forwarded through the Adjutant-General for the infoimation 
a,nd action of the Secretary of War and of the General of the Army, to be suppressed, 
or amended, or changed in form, as they might deem proper. The present form of 
letter therefore accomplishes, by other means, what was fully intended in the firsli 
letter. 

I am, very respectfully, y'r ob'd't serv't, 

\ W. B. HAZEN, 

' Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Offlcer, U. S. A. 

I enclosure. 

Note.— Following letter is a copy of enclosure to above : 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, November 10, 1882. 
The Adjutant-General, 

}^ar Department : 
Sir : I have the honor to make the following statement to the Department, for the 
information of the Secretary of War and the General of the Army, and for such ac- 
tion as they may deem advisable and proper : 

It will be necessary for this bureau to select without delay an officer to take charge 
of and half a dozen men to compose, the expedition to proceed next spring to Lady 
Franklin Bay as relief to the Greely Arctic party, and to suggest the selection of a 
suitable officer and men for this duty, to enable me to request the Secretary of War 
to authorize their detail. 

This will be an expedition requiring the very best manly character on the part of 
persons composing it, and it is for that reason I now ask aid in fixing upon the proper 
persons. There should be no possible doubt of the character of the officer, who should 
possess manly qualities of the first order. Sobriety, high intelligence, unflagging 
energy and zeal, and faculty to command are but a small part of these indispensable 
qualities. The men should be known to possess high qualities, and in fact be selected 
by the officer. Sledging may be necessary. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Above letter was sent as end. to preceding letter to A. G. O. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



November 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(120.) 
[Vol. 21, C. S. O.. page 412.] 



War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, November 15, 1882. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War: 

Sir : I have the honor to report that Acting Assistant Surgeon Hoadley, who en- 
tered into a contract with the Surgeon-General of the Army for service with the Lady 



APPENDIX. 91 

Franklin Bay expedition, was, by the failure of the supply party to reach that sta- 
tion, obliged to return to the city of Washington, where he has been since October 
9th, 1882. 

I have the honor to request that his station be fixed at Washington, with a view 
■of granting his allowances for commutation of quarters at this station from October 
9th until November 30th, 

I have ari'anged, through the kindness of Prof. Baird, for the employment of Dr. 
Hoadley after Nov. 30th at the Smithsonian Institution, where Dr. Hoadley will re- 
main until the supply expedition of 1883 is ready. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 



November 9, 1883. 



Chief Signal Officer. 



(121.) 
[6854 Mis., 1882. L. S., vol. 22, C. S. O.. 1882, page 344.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Dec. 16, 1882» 
Mr. T. N. MOLLOY, 

U. S. Consul, St. John's, N. F. : 
Dear Sir: It having been represented to me that Mr. J. W. Norman, who was first 
officer of the Neptune in the expedition this year, and who served in the same 
capacity on the Proteus the previous year, has large experience in the Arctic seas, and 
is in all respects a desirable man to secure for the relief expedition next year, I 
write to request that you will endeavor to engage his services, to commence when the 
expedition next year shall be ready to sail. I request also that you secure the serv- 
ices of three other men for the same expedition, the selection to be such as yourself 
and Mr. Norman can approve. These persons must be men of character and experi- 
ence ; of good habits, and inured to the climate. Regarding compensation to be 
paid them, you will please use your own judgment as to the amount they should re- 
ceive and any further conditions of their employment. It is thought that experi- 
enced sealers, accustomed to the ice, will be of valuable assistance to the expedition. 
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



Chief Signal Officer. 



(122.) 
I Vol. 23. C. S. 0., page 139.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan'y 6, 1883. 
Mr, T, N. MOLLOY, 

U. S. Coimsl, St. John's, Newfoundland : 
Dear Sir : It having been directed by the honorable the Secretary of War that 
all stores furnished by the Subsistence Department of the Army for the relief expe- 
dition to Lady Franklin Bay, now stored at St. John's, be returned to the depot com- 
missary at New York City, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of the in- 
voice of these stores of June 13th, 1882, the original receipt of Messrs. Harvey & Co., 
made Sept. 28th, 1882, at the time the stores from the Neptune were warehoused, and 
a memorandum of the packages received from the Neptune by Messrs. Harvey & Co., 
and to request that you will cause the stores named in the invoice of Major Hawkins, 
U. S. A. depot commissary, New York City, N. Y., in care depot quartermaster. 

Charges for doing this will be paid at this office upon notification from you of the 



92 APPENDIX. 

amount. I trust that you will be able to employ for the transfer of these stores some per- 
son who is entirely reliable, and if possible one who had knowledge of the packages 
when received, and who will therefore be less liable to make mistakes. 

With renewed thanks for your many kind offices on past occasions, I remain with 
great respect. 

Your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. G-en'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

(3 enc, (2, 6, and 7), 5387, Mis. 82, copy filed. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



(123.) 
[Vol. 23, C. S. O., page 191.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Sigxal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 10, 1883.' 

Mr. Thos. N. Moi^loy, 

U. S. Consul, St. John's, :N'. F. : 

Dear Sir : I find myself again obliged to request your kind assistance in preparing 
for the relief expedition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay. It is not improbable that 
the party sent will be stopped by the ice, as was the case last year, and in that event 
it will take station at Life-Boat Cove and await the arrival of Lt. Greely, who must 
retreat southward this fall if supplies do not reach him. It will, therefore, be neces- 
sary to provide quarters sufficient to house the stores and the combined parties. 

It is thought that the buildings required can be provided better and at less expense 
if made ready at St. John's than if sent from New York or elsewhere. 

I have the honor to enclose a description of the buildings required, and to request 
that you will contract with some reliable builder or dealer in lumber to have the ma- 
terial made ready and prepared for shipment on the relief vessel. Care should be 
taken to have the lumber for frame cut to the exact lengths required, the rafters tramed 
ready to go together, the boards for roof and walls cut to proper lengths, and, in short, 
everything done to facilitate the work of putting up the buildings when the station 
is reached. 

All this should be complete not later than June 1st, 1883, that there may be no de- 
lay. 

Trusting that you will give this matter your kind attention, 

I remain, very respectfully, yours, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, cj- Bvt. Maj Gen'l, Chief Signal Office)'. 

1 enc. * 

Note. — Following is copy of enc. 
Plan of house and store-room for winter quarters at Polaris winter quarters, Life-Boat Cove. 



Building to be 25 ft. wide and seventy-five feet long, outside measurement. Posts 
to be 10 ft. long. Eoof to be the usual form, with ordinary pitch, to be made of 
tongued and grooved stuff, which as put iu place will have the edges painted with 
coal-tar or other material. The walls of the building will be similarly made, the 
boards running perpendicularly, and will be sheathed with similar material. The in- 
terior will be ceiled with matched stuff nailed to ceiling, joist resting on plates. Ou 
one side of main building there will be a shed extension 10 ft. wide and twenty-five 
ft. long. The walls and roof to be as in main building, the roof being an extension 
of the roof of main building. This addition will not be ceiled overhead. 

The floors throughout will be of ordinary stuff, and the flooring joist must be stift 
enough to prevent undue springing. 



APPENDIX. 93 

There will be in main building three windows, for which frames must be made to 
take a double sash. This is of the size of a single sash, but provided to take two, in 
order to resist cold. 

The sash should be stationary. A similar sash will be required for the extension. 
The main building will have no exterior door, but there will ■ be required one frame 
and door between rooms and one from main building to the extension. These doors 
and frames, with two others required, can be of uniform size, made very plain, and the 
doors made of matched stuif battened, all to be 2 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft. 

The lumber should be' clear white pine ^ in. thick, and cut to right lengths. The 
frame should be of two-by-four stuff above the sills. 

The object is to get at the lightest expense a building which will accommodate the 
party for one year. The partitions, bunks, &c., need not be provided for. 

No hardware except the glass need be made ready. 

STORE-HOUSE. 

A building 20 x 30 ft., without floor, sheathing, or ceiling, with no windows, and 
with one door, the whole to be very plain, and as cheaply constructed as possible. 

OfiScial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offlcer. 
Nov. 9, 1683. 



(124.) 
[Vol. 23, C. S. O., page 254.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 13, 1883. 
The Adjutant-General, 

War Department : 
Sir: I have the honor to request that orders issue in usual form for the (detail ?) of 
the following-named enlisted men of the Army, now on duty in the department of 
Dakota : 

Sergeant John Kenny, Troop I, 7th Cavalry, Fort Totten, Dakota; Corporal Frank 
Elwell, Company E, 3rd Infantry, Fort Ellis, Montana; Artificer E. T. Montz, Com- 
pany A, 17th Infantry, Fort A. Lincoln, Dakota; Private John J. Murphy, Company 
F, 11th Infantry, Poplar Creek Agency, Montana. 

These men have volunteered, and have been selected by the department commander 
for duty with the proposed relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, 
and it is requested they report here in person at the earliest date practicable with 
the interruptions in travel at this season of the year. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A, 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(125.) 
fVol. 23, C. S. 0., page 255.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 13, 1883. 
The Adjutant-General, 

War Department : 

Sir : I have the honor to request that telegraphic instructions issue directing 
1st Lieutenant Ernest A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry, Fort Buford, Dakota (now at Fort 



94 APPENDIX. 

Snelling), to report in person to the Chief Signal Officer, in this city, for duty in con- 
nection with the proposed relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, 
his presence here being necessary at the earliest inacticahle date. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen^l, Chief Signal Office)-, TJ. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9. 1883. 



(126.) 
[Vol.23, C. S. O., page 312.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 17th, 1883. 
Commodore John Walker, 

Chief of Bureau of Navigation, U. S. A.: 
Sir : Not long since I had the honor to request of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy 
certain articles needed for the relief expedition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay. 
This request was approved and referred to Chief Constructor T. D. Wilson, from whom 
I now learn that two (2) small boat compasses and one hundred (100) fathoms of 
lead-line stuff, being among the articles required, pertain to the Bureau of Naviga- 
tion, under your charge. I therefore respectfully request that you will cause them to 
be supplied, and that you will inform me when and where to send for them. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signl Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Ofieer.. 

Nov. 9, 1883. '. ' ■ 



(127.) 
IVol. 23, C. S. O., page 210.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 17th, 1883. 
Commander Earl English, U. S. N., 

Chief of Bureau of Equipment and Eeo'uiting : 
Sir : Not long since I had the honor to request of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy 
such assistance in the way of material and certain supplies required for the relief ex- 
pedition to Lady Franklin Bay, expected to be sent out in June of this year, as could 
with propriety be furnished by the Navy Department. This request was referred to 
Chief Constructor, T. D. Wilson, approved. It is now learned that certain of the ar- 
ticles requested pertain to the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, under your 
charge. 

I enclose herewith a list of such articles, and respectfully request that may be sup- 
plied for the use of the expedition. If informed when and where they can be obtained 
I will send for them. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenU, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — The following is a coj^y of enc. ; 



APPENDIX. 95 

Memoranda of articles required for relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, pertaining to 
Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, U. S, Navy. 



55 sail-needles, assorted sizes. 

5 sewing-palms. • 

10 balls sail-twine, assorted numbers. 

1 marlin spike, small. 

1 ball spun yarn. 

1 ball marlin stuff. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(128.) 
[Vol. 23, C. S. O., p. 311. ) 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 17, 1883. 
Chief Constructor T. D. Wilson, 

Navy Department : 

Dear Sir : Referring to your favor of November 1st, 1882, in which you indicate 
that certain articles required for the relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay can be 
furnished from the Washington Navy -Yard, I have the honor to enclose a list of these 
articles as pertain to the Bureau of Construction and Eepair, and to request that you 
will cause them to be repaired. This should be done not later than the 31st of May 
next, as the expedition must sail early in June. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant. 



1 enc. 

Following is copy of end. 



W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



Memorandum of articles required for relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, June, 1883, 
and which pertain to the Bureau Construction and Eepair, U. S. Navy. 



Two whale-boats of good quality (to be painted black), with masts, sprits, and 
sails, rudders, and full complement of oars. 

One light clinker-built cedar dingy, 12 fr. long, 5 ft. beam (painted black), with 
masts, sprit, and sail, rudder, and eight sculls, 8 ft. long. Boat to be fitted with brass 
row-locks. 

Ten ice-chisels, with handles. The entire instrument to be 9 ft. long. Handles of 
best ash, 1^ in. in diameter, to be fitted and securely fastened into the sockets of two- 
inch framing-chisels, which have been temper-drawn and are beveled equally on both 
sides. 

Six ice-paddles, 8 ft. long, with similar chisel at one end and a small paddle tipped^ 
with thin metal at the other end. 

Six square ft. of light sheet-lead. 

Five pounds of copper nails, assorted sizes, for repairing boats. 

Six papers copper tacks, assorted. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offi^r.. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



96' APPENDIX. 

(129.) 

[Vol. 23, C. S. 0., page 344.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Jan. 18, 1883. 
The Adjutant-General, 

War Department : 

Sir: In continuation of tlie subject of my letters of the 13th and 15th of January, 
and in answer to yours of the 17th, I have the honor to ask that the following facts 
be laid before the Secretary of War : 

Lieut. Garlino'ton is now absent from his station at Fort Suelling, Dakota, to which 
place I believe he has been ordered by General Terry to await the further orders of 
the Secretary of War in this case ; he is naturally anxious to know the decision. The 
preparations for next year's expedition should be left very largely to his judgment. 
The plan of the voyage contemplates reaching Lieut. Greely, if possible,' at Lady 
Franklin Bay. If the ice should jirevent this, then the whole party is to be left at 
Littleton Island, where a depot is to be established and the necessary shelters erected. 
The vessel is to return to this country, leaving the party at Littleton Island, where 
they will await Lieut. Greely, who in September of this year will march to the south, 
expecting to find the party there. It will, of course, be necessary to send sledge par- 
ties from their depot to the north to communicate with Lieut. Greely and to oiler him 
any succor he may need. Lieut. Garlington should have all the time between this 
date and the time of his sailing to properly equip and su]3erintend the instruction of 
his men. I therefore ask that the Secretary of War reconsider the decision to delay 
sending him here before that date. I am confident that it is not too early to commence 
the needful preparation and study of the work in hand, the manufacture of the out- 
fit, and many other details. With regard to the enlisted inen asked for by my second 
letter, the above reasons apply with less force, but lead me to think that the party 
should be brought here with as little delay as possible. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(130.) 

[Vol. 24, C. S. O., page 36.1 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washington City, January 29th, 1883. 

Commissary-General, U. S. Army : 

Sir : In accordance with your request, I have the honor to inform you that the 
subsistence stores furnished by your department for the Lady Franklin Bay relief 
expedition of last year have been shipped to Major Hawkins, depot commissary at 
New York, having left St. John's on the steamship Alhambra January 18th. These 
being the stores invoiced by Major Hawkins to Lieut. A. W. Greely in June, 1882, 
and which are charged to that officer, I request that you will give such orders as will 
prevent complication of Lieut. Greely's accounts. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A, 

The original bill of lading, received this day, is herewith enclosed. 

Official copy of the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 97 

(131.) 



Memorandum left for verification to A. G. 0. 

[Special Orders Ko. 31. J 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, February 6, 1883. 

[Extract.] 

1. By direction of the Secretary of War, 1st; Lieutenant Ernest A. Garliogtoa, Ttb. 
Cavalry, having volunteered for the service, will be relieved from duty in the Depart- 
ment of Dakota by the commanding general of that department, and will then report 
in person to the Chief Signal Officer, in this city, for duty in connection with the i)ro- 
posed relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land. The journey, as di- 
rected, is necessary for the public service. 

2. By direction of the Secretary of War, the commanding general Department of 
Dakota will order the following-named enlisted men, who have volunteered for service 
with the proposed relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, to report 
in person to the Chief Signal Officer, in this city : 

Sergeant John Kenney, Troop I, 7th Cavalry; Corporal Frank Elwell, Companj^ E, 
3d Infantry ; Artificer Orville F. Moritz, Company A, 17th Infantry ; and Private John 

J. Murphy, Company F, 11th Infantry. 

*^ * * * # * * 

By c mmand of General Sherman : 

E. C. DRUM, 
Adjutant-General. 



(132.) 
[1092 Mis., 1883.] 

EoYAL Danish Legation, 
Washington, D. C, February llth, 1883. 
General W. B. Hazen, 

Chief Sigiial Officer, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir : Referring to your letter of October 26th, 1882, and my note answering the 
same, of December 1st, I.now have the honor to inform you that according to a let- 
ter to this legation from the foreign office in Copenhagen, dated Jan'y 26th, orders 
have been sent to the colonial inspector at Godhvn, Greenland, to have ready not 
later than July 10th, 1883, the objects mentioned in your said letter as required for 
the Lady Franklin Bay expedition. I am, however, instructed to point out to you 
that it may prove impossible to get for you the "40 temiaks, large size, to be made of 
deer skin ; " these deer skins are scarce and usually not to be had beyond what the 
Greeulanders want for their own use. As to your request to obtain two native dog- 
drivers for accompanying the expedition and remaining with the same until the fall 
of 1884, I am instructed to inform you that the authorities in Copenhagen feel some 
hesitation in ordering the Greenland officials to assist in any such engagement. 

Skillful and reliable dog-drivers would have to be selected amongst the best hunt- 
ers and fishers, but the absence of two such men for a whole year would in several 
respects be acutely felt at their home. Experience has also shown that native Green- 
landers return from engagements like the intended with habits and inclinations un- 
fitting them for their former life and pursuits. 
I remain, sir, your very obedient servant, 

BILLE, 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
^ Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, '83. 

S. Ex. 100— AP 7 



98 APPENDIX. 

(133.) 
[Vol. 24, C. S. O., page 294.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 
Washmgton City, February 12, 1883. 
The Commissary-General, U. S. Army: 

Sir: Eeferring to letter from your office ^ated the 7tli instant, in which yoii state 
that certain stores not furnished hy the Subs. Dep't have been received by Major 
Hawkins fi'om St. John's, N. F., I have the honor to request that the seven cases men- 
tioned may be retained in the depot at New York until the expedition of this year 
shall be fitted out. All of the stores for Lady Franklin Bay were on the return of 
the expedition warehoused at St. JohnV, and when those furnished by the Subsistence 
Department were ordered to N. Y. it was necessary to separate them from the others. 
In the absence of any officer or other person having knowledge of the stores it is not 
strange that the error in shipment should have been made. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy of the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



(134.) 

[Vol. 24, C. S. O., page 441 ; 1245 Mis., 1883.] 

Washington City, Feb. 23, 1883. 
Lieut. Col. Henry Hodges, 

Deputy Q. M. General, U. S. A., Neiv Torlc City: 
Sir: Eeferring to your letter of the 19th inst., relative to certain Q. M. stores in- 
voiced to Lieut. A. W. Greely, commanding expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, on June 
23rd, 1882, I have the honor to inform you that the condition of the ice in Smith's 
Sound having prevented the vessel from reaching Lient. Greely's party, the stores 
referred to, with others belonging to the relief expedition, were returned to St. John's, 
N. F., and stored in anticipation of the expedition of this year, which, if successful, 
will enable Lieut. Greely to receipt for these stores. Should the vessel sent this 
year be unable to get through the ice, the stores will be landed at Life-Boat Cove, on 
the west coast of Greenland, where a station will be established, to which Lieiat. 
Greely's party can retreat. 
Very respectfully, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(13.5.) 



[Vol. 25, O.C. S. O., page 2.] 



War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Feb'y 26th, 1883. 
The honorable Carl Steen Anderson de Bille, 

Consul- General, Danish Legation, Washington, D. C: 
My Dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
11th instant, giving information relative to the supplies for the Lady Franklin Bay 
expedition, and in reply to say the arrangements are now completed for procuring 



APPENDIX. 99 

these supplies, an-d I take this opportunity to assure you of my appreciation of the 
kind assistance you haTe rendered this office. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. General, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(136.) 

[Memorandum No. 4.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, February 28, 1883, 
Captain William H. Clapp, 16th Infantry, acting signal officer, will give 1st Lieu- 
tenant Ernest A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry, acting signal officer, all information re- 
garding the Lady Franklin Bay party, its personnel, stores, depots, and the outfit of 
the supply party now organizing, and will transfer the supervision of that work to 
Lieutenant Garlington, making a report when the transfer is completed. 
Bv order of the Chief Signal Officer: 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieutenant 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official : 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 

1st Lieutenant, 2d Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(137.) 
[1417 Mis., 1883.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, FeVy 28th, 1883. 

The Chief Signal Officer : 

Sir : As required in memorandum of this date I have the honor to report that I have 
referred to to Lieut. Garlington, A. S. O., all papers and memoranda relating to the 
expedition now fitting out, and have relinquished to him the supervision of that work. 
I shall at all times be ready to give him all the information and assistance in my 
power. 

Very respectfuUj'^, your ob't servant. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. H. CLAPP, 

Capt. 16th Inf't'y, A. S. 0. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officeir. 



100 APPENDIX. 

(138.) 
[Vol. 25, 0. C. S. O., page 173.1 

War Department, 

Office Chief Signal Officer, " 

Washington City, M'ch 10, 1883. 

To the honorable Secretary of War : 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the enclosed requisition for subsistence stores for 
sale to the officers and enlisted men composing the Lady Franklin Bay relief expe- 
dition. 

In the sundry civil bill, which passed at the recent Congress, the sum of iive thou- 
sand dollars was appropriated for the purchase of these stores, but owing to some 
oversight this money was not made immediately available, as was the money for the ex- 
penses of the expedition. I therefore suggest that the Subsistence Department be 
directed to purchase these stores as asked for in the enclosed requisition out of the 
money appropriated for that department for the current fiscal year, the same to be 
reimbursed to that department as soon as the appropriation made in the sundry civil 
bill becomes available. 

These stores should be securely packed in hooped boxes of convenient sizes for 
liandling, contents marked on end, and in New York not later than 1st June, 1883. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Ca2)t. 16th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

End. pinned to rough, marked B. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

(139.) 
[Vol. 25, O. C. S. 0., page 172] 

War Department, ^ 

Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, 10 March, 1883. 
To the honorable Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to submit the enclosed requisition for medical supplies for 
the Lady Franklin Bay expedition, and request that they be purchased by the medi- 
cal department from the unexpended portion of the allotment to the Signal Corps for 
the payment of medicines, &c., for the current fiscal year. 

These stores should be securely packed and ready for shipment in New York not 
later than 1st June, 1883. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Capt. Wth Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer, U, S. A. 



End. pinned to rough marked A. 1, 1541. Mis. '83. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(140.) 

[Vol. 25, 0. C. S. p., pg. 171.1 

War Department, 
« Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, M'ch 10, 1883. 
The honorable Secretary op War : 

Sir : I have the honor to request that the necessary authority be given to the 
Quartermaster-General to issue the camp and garrison equipage called for in the en- 
closed requisition. 



APPENDIX. 



101 



The articles asked for should be in New York by 1st June, 1883. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Cajyt. 16th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Following is copy of enclosure : 

(Form No. 44. Voucher to abst. K. Special requisition for C. C. & G. E. Lady 
Franklin Bay.) 



38 buffalo overcoats. 
24 fur caps (large size). 
24 fur gauntlets. 
40 pairs Arctic overshoes. 



Washington, D. C, 

March 10, 1883. 
(In duplicate.) 
Approved. 



E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut, 7th Cavalry, A. S. 0., Com^d'g Dei. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nor. 9, 1883.. 



W. H. CLAPP, 
Capt. lUh Infantry, A. C. S.^O. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(141.) 
[Vol. 25., 0. C. S. 0., pg. 174. 1540 Mis. '83.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, M'ch 12, 1883. 
The Chief of Ordnajstce, 

War Department : 
Sir : I have the honor to forward herewith requisition for ordnance and ordnance 
stores by 1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7tli Cavalry, commanding the detachment for 
the relief of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Capt. 16th Infantry, Acfg Chief Signal Officer. 
1-1540. Miss., 1883. 
1 Enclosure. 

Note. — Following is copy of enclosure : 

Reqitisition for ordnance and ordnance stores for use of detachment commanded by 
1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav'y : 

6 rifles, Springfield, .45. 
10,000 cartridges, .45 (1,000 reloading). 
8 partridge belts (Mills'). 
15 clothing bags. 

1 reloading tools, complete. 

24 extra ejector pins 
10, 000 wads. 

10, 000 primers. 

25 powder. 

2 shot-guns. , 

200 brass shells for shot-guns. 
10,000 wads. 

50 shot, 3, 8, 5, & 1 of each. 
10,000 primers, shot-gun. 
2 000 bullets, ejongated. 
(Sig'd) 



Examined & approved. 

(Sig'd) 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut. 7th Cav'y, 

W. H. CLAPP, 

Cap. 16ih Inffy, A.C.S. 0. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer: 



102 APPENDIX. ^ 

(142.) 

[Vol.25, O. C. S.O., pg. 226. 2076. P. D.,83. 1374 P. D., 83. 1333 Miss. '83.1 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Ma'ch. 13th, 1883. 
Mr. T. N. MoLLOY, 

U. S. Consul, St. John's, JST. F. : 
Sir : I liave the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your coin uiuni cation of the 17th 
ult., and in reply thereto to request that you please purchase for the Lady Franklin 
Bay expedition the following, viz: 

Seventy-five (75) tons anthracite coal to he put up in strong two (2) bushel sacks, 
so as to be readily handled ; 1,000 pounds dried fish ; subsistence to be ordered at once ; 
and five (5) tons dog food to be ordered at once. 

The foregoing supplies to be ready for shipment not later than June 10, 1883. 
You will be advised at an early date as to the wages that will be paid the men to 
be hired at St. John's, N. F., for Ihe expedition. 

I am, verv respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. CLAPP, 
Ca2)t. I6th U. S. Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(143.) 

[Vol.25, O.C. S. O., pg.273.] 

/ 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Mar. l<6th, 1883. 

To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir: Referring to the clause in public act No. 82, making appropriations for sundry 
civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and for other 
purposes, approved March 3, 1883, page 15, printed bill, Observations and Explora- 
tions in the Arctic Seas, it is proposed : 

1st. That the work shall be completed atLady Franklin Bay and Point Barrow dur- 
ing the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, if possible. 

2d. If it should be impossible to reach Lady Franklin Bay this year, the relief 
party will winter at Littleton Island, as originally agreed upon with Lieut. Greely. 
(See enclosure.) 

Lieut. Greely marching southward in September, will winter at Littleton Island, 
which is all that can be done the next fiscal year, and the whole party will then be 
brought back the next year after, or in 1884, as the law provides. 

The appropriations herein made can only cover the expenses for the next fisca 
year, and should it be impossible to reach Lady Franklin Bay, a new appropriation 
will be necessary at the coming session of Congress to relieve the whole jjarty which 
will have assembled at Littleton Island and then bring it back to this country. 

The Point Barrow expedition having- returned this year, the appropriation then 
necessary in this contingency will not exceed $25,000. 
I am, verv respectfuUv, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Office^', V. S. A. 

1 end. : Copy of printed letters of Lt. Greely to C. S. O., dated Aug. 17, '81, 3566, 
Mis. 81. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Office^'. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 103 

(144.) 
[Vol. 25, C. S. 0., p. 347.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, 21si March, 1883. 
Quartermaster-General, U. S. Army. 

General: I liave the'lionor to request that you will direct the issue of the clothing 
called for in the enclosed requisition. 

This clothing should be invoiced to 1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry, and 
sent to him securely packed, care of depot quartermaster, New York City, not later 
than Ist of June, 1883. 

Verv respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Major Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Following is copy of enclosure (in duplicate) : 

(Form 44. Vouchers to Abstract K. Special requisition for clothing. Lady Franklin 
Bay.) 

150 woolen blankets. 
28 ruber blaukets. 
175 blue shirts (Signal Service). 
100 blouses " " ^, ^sS-^^. 

100 pairs woolen mits. 
100 knit undershirts it, M, |g, ff, H. 
50 pair trousers, mt'd made. 

(S'g'd) - . E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut. 7th G'av'y, 
(S'g'd) W. H. CLAPP, 



Washington, D. C, March 10, 1883. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Capt. 16th Infty. A.C. S. 0. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



(145.) 

(Memorandum left for verification to A. G. 0. ) 

[General Orders, No. 17.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, March 20, 1883. 

The following extracts of an act of Congress are published for the information and 
government of all concerned : 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the G-overnment for the fiscal year end- ' 
ing June thirtieth, eigh.teen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted iy the Senate and House of Mepresentatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby, appro- 
priated for the objects hereinafter expressed for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-four, namely : 



SIGNAL service. 

To be expended by the Secretary of War : 

For the observation and report of storms : For expenses of the observation and re- 
port of storms by telegraph and signal for the benefit of commerce and agriculture 
throughout the United States ; for manufacture, purchase, and repair of meteorolog- 
ical and other necessary instruments, five thousand five hundred dollars ; for tele- 
graphing reports, one hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars ; for expenses of 



104 APPENDIX 

storm- sigials announcing the probable approacb and force of storms, ten thou- 
sand dollars; for cotton -belt reports, seA'en thousand dollars; for continuing the 
establishment and connections of stations at life-saving stations and light-houses, 
including operators, repairmen, materials, and general service, five thousand five 
hundred dollars ; and a portion of said sum shall be expended in establishing 
telegraphic connection between the life-saving station at Brigantine Beach, New 
Jersey, and the main laud and the stations above and below said Brigantine 
Beach Station: Provided, That such connection, in the opinion of the Superin- 
tendent of the Life Saving Service, shall be deemed necessary; for instrument- 
shelters, five hundred dollars ; for rent, hire of civilian employees, furniture, and ex- 
penses of offices maintained for public use in cities and ports receiving reports outside 
of Washington, District of Columbia, forty thousand dollars; office furniture, in 
Washington, District of Columbia, one thousand dollars; for river and flood reports, 
five thousand dollars; maps and bulletins to be displayed in chambers of commerce 
and boards of trade rooms, and for distribution, twenty-five thousand dollars; for 
books, periodicals, newspapers, and stationery, six thousand dollars; and for inci- 
dental expeuusesnot otherwise provided for, one thousand dollars ; in all, two hundred 
and forty-two thousand five hundred dollars : Provided, That the work of no other 
Department, Bureau, or commission authorized by law shall be duplicated by this 
Bureau. \ 

For maintenance and repair of military-telegraph lines, thirty-five thousand dol- 
lars: Provided, That on and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
three, all moneys received for the transmission of private dispatches over any and 
all telegra,ph lines owned or operated by the United States, shall be paid into the 
Treasury of the United States, as required by section thirty-six hundred and seven- 
teen of the Revised Statutes ; and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are 
hereby repealed. 

Observation and exjiloration in the Arctic Seas : For completing the work of scien- 
tific observation and exploration on or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and 
for transportation of ruen and supplies to said location and return, and for complet- 
ing the work of scientific exploration at Point Barrow, thirty-three thousand dollars; 
the same to be immediately available. And it is provided that the above work near 
Lady Franklin Bay and Point Barrow shall be closed, and the force thare employed 
shall be returned to the United States within the year, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
four. 

Pay : For pay of one brigadier-general and ten second lieutenants, nineteen thou- 
sand five hundred dollars; for pay of one hundred and fiity sergeants, thirty corpo- 
rals, and three hundred and twenty privates, including payments due on discharge, 
two hundred thousand dollars; for mileage to officer's when traveling on duty under 
orders, five thousand dollars ; for pay of contract surgeons, three thousand six hun- 
dred dollars ; for commutation of quarters to commissioned officers at places where 
tliere are no public quarters, seven thousand dollars; in all, two hundred aud thirty- 
five thousand one hundred dollars. And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his 
discretion, to detail for the service in the Signal Corps, not to exceed ten commis- 
sioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal Corps authorized by 
law and exclusive of officers detailed for Arctic sea service. 

Subsistence: For the subsistence of signal service enlisted men, and for commuta- 
tion of rations of signal service enlisted men, one hundred and forty-eight thousand 
scA'en hundred and twenty-seven dollars and seventy-two cents; for commutation of 
rations to enlisted men detailed from regiments for duty at signal stations at Lady 
Franklin Bay and Point Barrow, eight thousand and fifty-two liollars ; in all, one 
hundred and fifty-six thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine dollars aud seventy- 
two cents. 

* For subsistence stores for Lady Franklin Bay, for sale to the officers and men of the 
expedition, five thousand dollars. 

For subsistence stores for Point Barrow, for sale to the officers and men and civil 
employees of the expedition, three thousand dollars. 

iiegular sui)plies : Fuel, authorized allowance for officers and enlisted men at Fort 
Meyer, Virginia, and for various offices at Fort Meyer, Virginia, and on the United 
States military-telegraph lines, six thousand two hundred aud ninety-five dollars; 
commutation of fuel for two hundred and twenty enlisted men of the Signal Corps, 
at nine dollars each per month, twenty three thousand .seven hundred and sixty dol- 
lilars ; commutation of fuel for two hundred and forty-three enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps, at eight dollars each per month, twenty-three thousand three hundred and 
twenty-eight dollars; forage for twenty-five mtiles and six horses, three thousand one 
hundred dollars; stationery, one hundred dollars; stoves, seven hundred and six dol- 
lars and twenty-five cents; lights, three hundred and sixty-two dollars and fifty 
cents ; in all, fifty-seven thousand six hundred and fifty-one dollars and seventy-five 
cents[.] 

Incidental expenses : For horse and mule shoes, five hundred dollars; blacksmiths' 
tools, five hundred and fifty dollars; veterinary supplies, three hundred dollars; fire 



APPENDIX. 105 

-3 

apparatus, disinfectants, and so forth, one hundred and twenty-fiA'e dollars ; in all, 
one thousand four hundred and seventy-tive dollars. 

Transportation : For transportation and distribution of supplies, instruments, and 
material, twenty-five thousand dollars; for transportation of officers and men, eight 
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five dollars ; meaus of transportation, namely: 
five mules, at one hundred and forty dollars each, seven hundred dollars ; one spring- 
•wagou, two hvindred dollars; for repairs to means of transportation, five hundred 
dollars; in all, thirty- five thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars. 

Barracks and quarters : For commutation of quarters to enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps, eighty-four thousand one hundred and eight dollars ; work and supplies at 
Fort Meyer, Virginia, one thousand eight hundred dollars ; in all, eighty-five thou- 
sand nine hundred and eight dollars. 

Clothing, camp and garrison equipage : For clothing for one hundred and fifty ser- 
geants, at forty-six dollars and twenty-five cents each, six thousand nine hundred and 
thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents ; clothing for thirty corporals, at forty-five dollara 
and eighty-four cents each, one thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars and 
twenty cents ; clothing for three hundred and twenty privates, at forty-four dollars 
and thirty-two cents each, fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty-two dollars and 
forty cents; clothing for twenty-two detailed men with the Arctic expedition, at 
forty-five dollars each, nine hundred and ninety dollars ; in all, twenty-three thousand 
four hundred and eighty-five dollars and ten cents. 

Medical department : For medical attendance and medicines for oflicers and enlisted 
men of the Signal Corps, three thousand five hundred dollars ; medical attendance and 
medicines for officers doing duty in connection with the Signal Service, one hundred 
dollars ; medical and hospital supplies at Fort Meyer, Virginia, nine hundred dollars ; 
medicines furnished to officers and enlisted men from purveying depots and Army dis- 
pensaries, one thousand dollars ; materials for repairs of hospitals at Fort Meyer, Vir- 
ginia, two hundred dollars ; in all, five thousand seven hundred dollars. 

And there shall not be expended from any moneys appropriated by the act entitled 
"An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other i^urposes," approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, any money for the support of the 
Signal Service or Corps, except the pay of such commissioned officers as the Secretary 
of War may detail for service in that corps. 



(146.) 

(Memorandtiin left for verification to A, G. 0.) 

[Special Orders, No. 67.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, March 22, 1883. 

[Extract.] 

8. By direction of the Secretary of War the commanding general Department of 
Dakota will order the following-named enlisted men of Troop L, 7th Cavalry, to re- 
port in person to the Chief Signal Officer in this city for duty with the relief expedi- 
tion to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land : 

Sergeant Vharles Bolton and Private Boiert J. Coolc. 
* » > » 

By command of General Sherman : 

E. C. DEUM, 

Adjutant-Gene7'ah 



(147.) 

[Vol. 25, p'g. 367, C. S. 0.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, March 23, 1883. 
Quartermaster-General, U. S. Army: 

General : I have the honor to request that you will approve and direct the issue 
of the quartermaster's stores on the enclosed requisition for the use of the Lady Frank- 
lin Bay party. 



106 APPENDIX. 

The stores should be sent to New York, care of depot quartermaster, uot later than 
1st June, '83. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. andBvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

1 end. 

Note. — Following is copy of enclosure : 

{Form 844. Voucher to abstract K. Special requisition for quartermaster's stores.) 
1 grindstone (small). 

1 nail puller. 

4 hatchets and handles. 

2 jack planes. 

2 smooth planes. 

1 fore plane. 

2 steel squares. 

1 spirit-level. 
4 brad awls. 

2 try squares. 
1 spoke shave. 

1 drawing knife. 

1 pair shears (tinner). 

1 brick trowel. 

1 oil stone. 

2 rub stones (small). 
1 nail punch. 

6 saw tiles. * 

25 sheets sand pajier. 

1 wood rasp. 

6 hand-saws (assorted). 

4 claw-hkmmers. 

1 brace. 
12 bits (assorted). 

1 soldering iron. 

2 lbs. solder. 

2 screw-drivers. 
1 small vise. 
6 chisels (assorted). 
1 tool chest. 

F'or use of Lady Franklin Bay expedition. 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut. 7 th Cavalry. 

Approved : 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer. 

(In duplicate.) 

Ofificial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(148.) 

[Vol. 25, pg. 400, C. S. O. 1896 Mis., ]883.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Mar. 26, 1883. 

To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : The enclosed requisitions have been somewhat amended after conference with 
the Commissary-General. The stores are absolutely necessary. It is necessary to 



APPENDIX. 107 

replace the stores sent back from St. John's, N. F., to New York, and to provi'^e in ad- 
dition a supply for Lient. Greely's party for the time which will probably be spent 
at Littleton Island before the ship can get np in 1884. It is the withdrawal of these 
stores from St. .John's, which makes the five thousand dollars appropriated for sales 
of subsistence stores to officers and men by the act approved March 3d, 1883, insnffi- 
ciert for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884. 

It is requested that the Secretary of War authorize the purchase of these stores, 
reimbursing the Subsistence Department in the sum of the live thousand dollars axj- 
propriated by the act of March 3, 1883, the balance to be supplied by the Subsistence 
Department from the current year's appropriations in suchmamier as the Commissary- 
General maj' suggest. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

One enclosure. 1896. Mis., 1883. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer^ 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(149.) . 

[Vol. 25, pg. 392, C. S. O.] 

• War Department, 

Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, 26 Mar., 1883. 
Quariermaster-Geneeal, U. S. Army: 

General : I have the honor to request that you will furnish for the use of the Lady 
Franklin Bay expedition three (3) doz. woven felt boots, three (3) doz. woven felt 
mitts (1 finger). These should be of assorted sizes, principally large. The articles 
should be sent to Lt. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav., care of depot quartermaster, New 
York, not later than 1st June, 1883. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Offi,cer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

^ Nov. 9, 1883. 



(150.) 

[Telegram. 1672 Mis. '83. Vol. 25, pg. 414, C. S. O.] 

Washington, March 29, 1883. 
To T. N. MOLLOY, U. S. Consul, 

St. John^s, Newfoundland : 
The offer of William Campbell to construct building for Lady Franklin Bay at 
twelve hundred dollars is accepted. 

HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy furnished Capt. Clapp same date. 
Official copy from the records of the-Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



108 APEPNDIX. 

(151.) 

[C. S. 0., vol. 26, p. 105, K.] 

(This memorandum was taken in person to Sec'y of War without letter of transmit- 
tal, about the first of Apr., '83.) 

MEMORANDUM. 

The Lady Franklin Bay expedition was authorized by the act approved May 1st, 
1880. It has been continued annually by the sundry civil bill, approved March 3rd, 
1881 ; by joint resolution (No. 36), approved June 27tli, 1882, and by the sundry 
civil bill approved March 3rd, 1883 ; which last provides for its completion. This 
last act also provides : 1st, the necessary moneys for the hire of a vessel, and for the pur- 
chase of material not usnally supplied to the Army; and, 2nd, by a special clause for 
the purchase of subsistence stores for sale to the officers and men of the expedition. 
A special clause of this last act, iu limiting the number of commissioned officers of 
signal duty, excepts from the limitation those detailed for Arctic sea service. 

The continuation and conclusion of the work at Lady Franklin Bay calls for a fur- 
ther detail of "officers or other persons of the public service," which the President is 
authorized to make by the act approved May 1st, 1880. " Officers or other persons 
of the public service" so detailed, have been given the compensation to which they 
were lawfully entitled at the time of such detail through the three last years. 
But the act approved March 3rd, 1883, declares that "there shall not be expended 
from any moneys appropriated by the act entitled 'An act making appropriations 
for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1884, and for other 
purposes,' approved March 3rd, any money for the support of the Signal Service or Corps, 
excejjt the pay of such commissioned officers as the Secretary of \Var may detail for 
service in that corps," and the question arises whether the men detailed from the line 
of the Army can, under this clause, be paid from army appropriations, as heretofore, 
and whether material ordinarily issued to the Army can be furnished for the com- 
pletion of this expedition from the same appropriations. The question then arises, is 
the Lady Franklin Bay expedition a part of the Signal Service or Corps? 

If so, all the expenses of the expedition for the next fiscal year must be charged to 
the Signal Service, and this must include for that period the pay of the enlisted men 
now at Lady Franklin Bay detailed from the Army and their allowances, and of those 
who will go up this year. But the pay and allowances for these men are all appro- 
ariated for in the Army appropriation bill. Though commonly so regarded, the expe- 
dition to Lady Franklin Bay is not a part of the Signal Service or Corps. It is true that 
the officer in command is an officer of the Signal Service, and that among the persons 
detailed for that expedition are five (5) men of the Signal Corps ; it is true, also, that 
the station at Lady Franklin Bay, undertakes very important meteorological observa- 
tions and reports in connection with the international meteorological scheme ; but it 
also has for its purpose, under the original act of May 1st, 1H80, scientific observa- 
tionsand explorations which are entirely outside of the purposes of the Signal Serv- 
ice, and are in no way to its benefit, and might have been done by any other branch 
of "the public service." 

The act of May 1st, 1880, recites its purpose "to establish a temporary station at 
some point north of the eighty-first degree of north latitude, on or near the shore of 
Lady Franklin Bay, for purposes of scientific observation and exploration, and to de- 
velop or discover new whaling grounds." 

For these reasons I am of the opinion that this Arctic duty is not, in the restricted 
sense described by act of March 3rd, signal duty, so far as to prohibit the payment 
from the Army appropriation of the personnel detailed from the Army under the act 
of May 1st, 1880, and subsequent acts, to perform that duty, nor of the issue of such 
Army supplies as are commonly furnished to officers and men of the Army. 

If this view, in the opinion of the Secretary, is not correct, all the expenses for the 
fiscal year ending June 30th, 1884, will have to be charged to the Signal Service, and 
the money now appropriated for pay and allowances in the Army appropriation bill 
for the enlisted men of regiments now in the Arctic seas will have to be reappropri- 
ated as a deficiency by the next Congress. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer^ 
NoA\ 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 109 

(152.) 

[Vol.26, C. S. O., 107.] 

(This mem. was takeu in person to the Sec'y of War, without lelter of transmittal, 
about the first of Apr., '83.) 

ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 

The expedition to the Arctic seas, commonly known as the " Lady Franklin Bay 
expedition," is authorized by the act approved May 1st, 1880, &c., &c. This act em- 
powers the President of the U. S. to establish temporary stations at or near the shore 
of Lady Franklin Bay, &c., for purposes set forth; ''to detail such officers or other 
persons of the public service to take part in the same as may be necessary, and who 
are willing to enlist for such purpose, not exceeding fifty in number, and to use any 
public vessel or vessels that may be suitable for the purpose of transporting the 
members to said station, and their necessary supplies, and for such other duties in 
connection with such station as n\a.j be required from time to time," with sundry 
other provisions. It sliould be noticed that no appropriation whatever was made for 
carrying this into effect in the year 1880. 

The power conferred upon the President to detail officers and other persons, and to 
use a public vessel or vessels, may be construed to carry with it the power to pay all 
persons so detailed in the way of salary, ])aY, and allowances, and the purchase of such 
supplies, both for the party itself and for the vessel or vessels, as would be necessary 
to carry this act into execution. 

That the President should have detailed officers and men of the Army for this serv- 
ice was not necessary under the provisions of the act itself, for he is empowered by 
this act f o detail from any branch of the public service. 

As to subsequent acts, the sundry civil bill approved March 3rd, 1881, appropriated 
$25,000.00 for the specific " purpose of contiuuing the work of scientific exploration, 
and. observation on or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transportation 
of men and supplies to said location and return." 

It should be observed that almost the entire amount, $25,000.00, wasnecessary tothe 
transportation of these supplies, and that the compensation to be paid to the mem- 
bers of the party and the cost of necessary suj)plies for the maintenance of this sta- 
tion was left to be provided from the general appropriations for those branches of the 
public service from which the officers and men of the party were detailed. 

The subsequent joint resolution, No. 36, approved June 27th, 1882, continued the 
annual provision of the sundry civil bill of March 3rd, 1881. 

The act approved March 3rd, 1883, pro*ides " for the completion " of this work, 
and makes a further annual appropriation. Other provisions of this act allow a cer- 
tain number of commissioned officers to be detailed in the Signal Corps exclusive of 
the officers detailed for Arctic Sea service ; but this does not necessarily connect the 
Arctic Sea service with the Signal Service further than by the implication that some 
of its officers are detailed on this service, and are not to be counted as detailed for 
service in the Signal Corps. 

The expedition to Lady Franklin Bay is not in fact a part of the Signal Service. 
The officer in command was before being detailed for that duty an officer of the Sig- 
nal Service, and five men of the Signal Corps are of the party. The station makes 
important meteorological observations in connection with the international meteoro- 
logical scheme ; but it has also for its purpose, under the original act, approved May 
1st, 1880, other observations and explorations which are in no way to the benefit of 
the Signal Service, and might have been done by any other branch of the Army, Navy, 
or of the public service. I hope these reasons will appear sufficient for the payment 
of the personnel from the appropriations which provide for their support, and for 
providing from such branches of the public service as the President has or may desig- 
nate such supjjlies as can he furnished and are suitable to the peculiar service required. 

The amount appropriated by the act approved March 3rd, 18c?3, is necessary to the 
payment of the cost of transportation and other necessary specific expenses not other- 
wise provided for. 

The original of the above was returned with the following endorsed thereon : 

Under practical construction for a number of years, the expression '' Signal Service" 
has no restricted or special signification, but means anything done by the Chief Signal 
Officer through the men and means placed at his disposal by law or by the Secretary 
of War. 

The Arctic expeditions originated in the Signal Office, and no other Bureau seems 
to have taken the slightest interest in them. It was solely upon the urgency of the Chief 
Signal Officer that the Secretary of War, not withoutreluctance, took the steps which 



110 



APPENDIX. 



have placed these expeditions on foot. No reason is perceived for exchidin^ them 
from the description "Signal Service" which would not apply to the Weather Bureau 
work. Aside from this, they are expressly included in the caption "Signal Service" 
by the sundry civil act of March 3, 1883. 

R. T. L. 
Ap'l 9, '83. 



Oilicial copy from the records of the Signal OflSce. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(153.) 

[Telegram— vol. 25, p. 464.] 

Wash'n, April 2, 1883. 
To Mr. MOLLOY, 

U. S. Consul, Si. John's, Netvfoun dl and: 
It is very necessary to know something definite about the steamer for this season. 
There must be no mistake about having a good boat. What do you know about the 
Vanguard, Neptune, and Proteus? 

HAZEN. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal OiSce, 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(154.) 
[Telegram— Tol. 26, C. S. O., p. 75.] 

^ Washington, Apr. 9, 1883. 

To John Lynn (Stewarts & Co.), 

St. John's, Newfoundland : 
Please see Consul Molloy. Ask what are the prospects for Proteus, Neptune, or 
Vanguard this year. Answer immediately. 

HAZEN. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(155.) 
[L. S. vol. 17, Mis., '83, page 277.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, Apr. 13, 1883. 
Ist Lieut. A. W. Greely, bth Cav'y, Acting Sig. Officer, 

Com' d'g Expedition to Lady Frankl. Bay : 
(Through 1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav., A. S. O., com'd'g relief exp. to 
Lady Franklin Bay.) 

Sir: The Chief Signal Officer directs that the authority contained in the enclosed 
letter be exercised, as far as you find it economical to the public interests, by the con- 



APPENDIX. Ill 

demnation and sale of such stores as can be readily disposed of for cash at advan- 
tageous prices at any place where you may stop on your way hack.- In this matter 
you will please exercise your own judgment, keeping within the authority enclosed^ 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Art'y, Acting Signal Officer. 

1 end. (copy 1911, Mis. 1883). 

This letter was sent in triplicate in the usual manner. 

The foregoing letter also sent to 1st Lieut. P. H. Ray, 8th Inf't'y, act'g sig. officer;,. 
Point Barrow, Alaska. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(156.) 

[Vol. 26, C. S. 0., page 226; 2460 Mis., '83, L. E.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, 21st April, 1883. 
To the honorable Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to recommend that a contract be made with Dr. James L.. 
Camp, now at the Standing Kock Indian Agency, Dakota Territoi-y, as an acting as- 
sistant surgeon, and that he then be ordered to this city for duty with the jiroposed 
relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay. 

Dr. Camp volunteered for the duty, and is very highly recommended. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

[1st indorsement.] 

Eespectfully returned to the Chief Signal Officer, and attention invited to the 
amount appropriated in the sundry civil bill, viz, $3,600. The Secretary of War de- 
sires that a project be submitted for the expenditure of that amount. 
By order of the Secretary of War : 

/ JOHN TWEEDALE, 

Chief Cleric. 
War Dep't, Apr. 23, '83. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

ChieJ Signal Officer. 



(157.) 
[Vol. 26, C. S. O., page 274.] 



War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Office, 

Washington City, April 25, 1883. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : In reply to your endorsement of the 23d inst., upon the application for th& 
employment of Dr. James L. Camp as surgeon to accompany the proposed relief ex~ 



112 APPENDIX. 

pedition to Lady Franklin Bay, I have the honor to submit the following project for 
the expenditure of the amount ($3,600.00) appropriated in the sundry civil bill. 

For the pay of one acting ass't surgeon at Fort Myer, |1,200.00. 

For the pay of one acting ass't surgeon at Lady Franklin Bay, with Lieut. Greely, 
$1,200.00. 

For the pay of one acting ass't surgeon at Point Barrow, $300. 

The above-named acting assistant surgeons are now employed. The one at Point 
Barrow, Alaska, will return to the United States with Lieut. Ray, and his contract 
annulled. The snm of $900.00 by the above arrangement remains iinexpended, and it 
is proposed to apply it to the payment of Dr. Camp as far as it will go. If the relief 
expedition returns this year it will be ample ; if not, the next Congress will have to 
be petitioned to provide the deficiency. 

It is suggested that a contract be now made with Dr. Camp, at the Standing Rock 
Indian Agency, and that from date of contract to July 1st, 1883, he be paid from reg- 
ular appropriation for current fiscal year ; after that date, from the amount appropri- 
ated in the sundry civil bill. The Surgeon-General, in a personal interview with Lt, 
Garlington, offered no objection to such an arrangement. 

It is further requested that after the contract is made with Dr. Camp he be ordered 
to report to the Chief Signal Officer, in this city. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. W. POWELL, Jr., 
Captain 6th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(158.) 
[Vol. 26, C. S. O., page 341.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 1st, 1883. 
To the Surgeon-General of the Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to invite your attention to the enclosed communication, and 
the endorsement of the Secretary of War thereon, regarding a contract to be made 
with Dr. James L. Camp, Standing Rock Indian Agency, Dakota, to accompany the 
relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay as acting assistant surgeon, and to request 
that the contract be made and he ordered by telegraph to report to the Chief Signal 
Office, in this city, without delay. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. W. POWELL, Jr., 
Captain 6th Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

2 enclosures. 

Note. — Enclosures were 2,460 Mis., '83, with endorsements and end. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



, (159.) 
[Vol.26, C. S. 0., page 413.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 10, 1883. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir: In view of the great importance of the relief expedition of this year to Lady 
Franklin Bay, and the necessity of securing the best vessel available, and also the serv- 



APPENDIX 113 

ices of certain experienced persons to accompany the expedition, I have the honor to 
request authority to proceed to Saint John's, Newfoundland, for this purpose. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Office)-, U. S. A. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(160.) 
[Vol.26, C. S.O., P.413.J 

' War Department, 

Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 10, 1883. 
The honorable the Secretary of War: 

Sir: I have the honor to request that application be made to the honorable the 
Secretary of the Navy for the detail of an officer of that service to inspect the vessel 
to be selected for the relief expedition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay. 

It is very necessary that such inspection be made of the vessel as a whole, and par- 
ticularly of her engines and their power to contend with ice-fields. 

The officer selected should accompany the officer of this service, and be in St. John's 
with him. 

On account of his wide experience and good judgment, I venture to suggest that 
Chief Engineer Melville would be a most suitable officer for this duty, and should be 
pleased if his present duties will permit his detail. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Action on above letter: 2429 B, WarDep't. Eec'd May 18, 1883. 3011, O. C. S. O., 
Mis., 1883. 

Navy Department, 

Washington, May 18th, 1883. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, 
enclosing a letter from the Chief Signal Officer of the Army requesting that an officer 
of the Navy be detailed to inspect the vessel to be selected for the relief expedition 
of this year to Lady Franklin Bay, and have to inform yon that Lieutenant-Com- 
mander McCalla has been selected for that duty, and starts for St. John's, Newfound- 
land, this day in company with General Hazen. 
Very respectfully, 
1 WM. E. CHANDLER, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

The honorable the Secretary of War. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(161.) 

(Memorandum left for verification to A. G. 0.) 

[Special Orders No. 113.] 



Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, May 16, 1882. 
[Extract.] 



17. By direction of the Secretary of War, Brigadier General William b. Ha-sen, Chief 
Signal Officer, will proceed to St. John's, Newfoundland, on business connected with 

S. Ex. 100— AP 8 



114 



APPENDIX. 



the relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, and on completion of this duty will return 
to his station in this city. The travel as directed, is necessary for the public service. 
By command of General Sherman : 

CHAUNCEY McKEEVER, 

Acting Adjutant-General. 



(162.) 
[3126 Mis., 1883. 



Washington, 19 May, 1883. 



Capt. S. M, Mills, 

5 Art'y, P. and D, 0., Signal Corps : 

Capt: I have the honor to request that you will furnish me with four (4) Spring- 
field carbines and three thousand (3,000) rounds of ammunition, and they be sent to 
New York ac. depot Q. M. 

Very resp'v, your ob'd't s'v't, 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1 Lieut. 7 Cavalry, A. S. 0. 



App'd. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



JAS. W. POWELL, Jr., 

Capt. 5 Inf., A. C. S. 0. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(163.) 
(Memorandum left for.verification to A. G. O.) 
[Special order No. 117.] 



Headquarters of the Armv, 

Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington., May 21, 1883, 



[Extract.] 



8. By direction of the Secretary of War, Ist Lieutenant Ernest A. Garlington, 7th 
Cavalry, acting signal officer, will proceed to New York City and carry out the instruc- 
tions of the Chief Signal Officer in connection with the relief expedition to Lady 
Franklin Bay, and on completion of this duty will return to his station in this city. 
The travel as directed is necessary for the public service. 
By command of General Sherman : 

E. C. DRUM, 

Adjutant- Geaeral. 
Official : 

S. N. BENJAMIN, 
Assistant Adjutant- General. 



♦ (164.) 
[Telegram— vol. 17, Mis. 18, '83, page 352.] 

Washington, D. C, May 25, 1883. 
To Lieut. E, A. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel, Neio York City : 

General telegraphs following : Proteus ready receive freight June fourteenth. 



APPENDIX. 115 

Everything must leave on or before Baltimore boat fourteenth, or New York boat 
sixth. 

CAZIAEC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(165.) 
[Telegram— L. S., Vol. 17, Mis., '83, page 354.1 

Washington, May 28, 1883. 
To Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Graiid Hotel, JSf. Y. City : 
Needles, twine, spun yarn, marline, &c., ready at this yard. Sails for boats ordered 
Brooklyn telegram to-day. Chisels, paddles, sheet lead, and nails ordered same yard. 
Orders wiU be renewed. Compasses and lead-line stuff orders renewed same yard. 
Telegraph if not O. K. in what particular. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



CAZIARC. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(166.) 

[Telegram received at 5.35 p. m., dated New York, 28, 3197, Mis., '83.] 

May 28, 1883. 
To Lieut. Caziarc, S. 0. : 

Believe it impossible to find suitable surgeon here in the time.* Gilder recommends 
Dr. Eoss, of Washington. Something must be done at once. 

GARLINGTON, 
Lt. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(167.) 

[Telegram received at 7.40 p. m., dated New York, 29, 3168, Mis., '83.] 

May 29, 1883. 
To C. S. O., Washn. : 

Don't take final action on surgeon ; have had two offers. Will communicate by let~ 
ter. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov 9, 1883. 



GARLINGTON, 

Lt. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officsr. 



116 APPENDIX. 

(168.) 

[Telegram— L. S., Vol. 17, Mis., 1883, page 35.J 

"Washington, May 30, 1883. 
liieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel, Neic York : 
Will attend to surgeon and compasses and lead-line stuff to-morrow. Nothing can 
be done here to-day. Let me know about your surgeon if possible to-morrow morning. 

CAZIAEC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(169.) 
[Telegram— L. S., Vol. 17, Mis.. 1883, page 355.] 

Washington, May 30, 1883. 
To Lieut. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel. N. Y. City : 
Doctor secured here. Surgeon-General will be asked to contract to-morrow. 

CAZIAEC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

CMef Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(170.) 
[Telegi^m Received at 6.46 p. m., dated New York, 30, 3166, Mis., '83.] 

May 30, 1883. 



To Lieut. Caziarc, S. : 

Secure the surgeon there. Wire return Saturday. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



GARLINGTON. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(m.) 

[Telegram— L. S., Vol. 17, Mis., 1883, page 355.] 

Washington, May 31, 1883. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel, New York : 
Doctor probably all right. Letter, January eighteenth, Bureau Navigation, to Com- 
modore Upshur; acknowledged by him twenty-second. Ordered compasses and lead 
line stuff. Telegraphic order again sent to-day. Please acknowledge this. 

CAZIARC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 117 

(172.) 

[Telegram— L. S., Vol. 17, Mis., 1883, page 356.] 

Washington, May 31, 1883, 
To Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel, New York : 
Dr. J. S. Harrison, of this city, contracted. Medical and hospital supplies now ready 
at depot, one hundred twenty-six Wooster street, New York City. Will you see them 
turned over ? 

CAZIARC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(173.) 
[Vol. 27, p. 229.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 2, 1883. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

7th Cavalry, A. S. 0., Office Chief Signal Officer: 
Sir : I desire to impress upon you the fact that upon yourself devolves the respon- 
sibility that the supplies required for the relief party to Lady Franklin Bay, as ap- 
proved by the Chief Signal Officer, have been properly marked and delivered. 

It is not sufficient that requisitions have been made for these supplies, but you will 
personally satisly yourself that they are delivered as ordered, or in case of failure 
that the attention of this office be called to a remedy before it is too late. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. W. POWELL, 
Captain Qth Infantry, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(174.) . 
I Vol. 27, C. S. O., page 257.] 



War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Office', 

Washiiigton City, June 4th, 1883. 
Lieut. A. W. Greely, 

Commanding Station Congei', Grinnell Land : 

Sir : The attempt of last year to open communication with you is renewed. For 
this purpose a well equipped party is sent, with ample supplies, under the command 
of 1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, of the 7th Cavalry, with directions to report to you 
for duty. A copy of Lieut. Garlington's instructions is enclosed. (Enclosure 1.) 

In providing for contingencies, and for the complete success of the expedition, 
nothing has been omitted which advice and experience could suggest. Owing to the 
action of Congress at its last session, probably controlled somewhat by misfortunes 
to other Arctic expeditions, it is necessary to discontinue the work at Lady Franklin 
Bay, and to direct the return of your party to the United States by the first opportu- 
nity. You will, therefore, embark your party with the instruments and such stores 
and material as it ap^jears desirable to bring away, and return via St. John's, N. F., to 
this city. 

The details of the work of the abandonmont of your station and your return must 
of necessity be left largely to your judgment. The house or houses should be left for 
further use, and such depots as you may think best. In the event of your remaining 
at Life-Boat Cove during the coming winter, your party may expect to be brought 
away as early next year as the ice will permit ; meantime it is desirable that the scien- 



118 APPENDIX. 

tific work of the expedition be continued without unnecessary interruption, and an 
outline for this has been given to Lieutenant Garlington, and will be turned over to 
you by him. Since the vessel will start some two weeks earlier this year than here- 
tofore, there may be time after her arrival to finish any work you may specially 
wish to do before her return, say Sept. 15th. 

You are authorized to sell to the best advantage in the manner prescribed or usual 
in extraordinary cases, at any place before reaching the United States, such public 
property as in your judgment it would be to the best interest of the United States to 
dispose of in that manner. (The instructions of the honorable the Secretary of War 
in this connection are enclosed herewith. Enclosure 2.) 

In case they are not abandoned, you will please use every care in packing and 
safely transporting your instruments, that they may be verified and made ready for 
further use. 

I sincerely hope that Lieutenant Garlington will reach you with the relief vessel, 
and that your party, with its number unbroken may speedily return again to home 
and friends. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Enclosure 1 was following instructions to Lieut. Garlington, and enclosure 
2 was 1911 Mis., 1883. Copy of this letter and enclosure were given to Secretary of 
War by Genl. Hazen June 6, 1883. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(175.) 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 4, 1883. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Commanding relief vessel to Lady Franklin Bay : 

Sir: You are aware of the necessity of reaching Lieutenant A. W. Greely and his 
party with the expedition of this year. This necessity cannot be overestimated, as 
Lieut. Greely's supplies will be exhausted during the coming fall, and unless the relief 
ship can reach him he will be forced, with his party, to retreat southward by land 
before the winter sets in. 

Such a retreat will involve hardship and the probable abandonment of much val- 
uable public property, with possible loss of important records and life. 

For these and other reasons which will occur to you no efl:brt must be spared to 
push the vessel through to Lady Franklin Bay. 

In the event of being obstructed by ice in Smith Sound or Kennedy Channel, you 
are advised to try to find a passage through along the west coast, which, beside being 
usually the most practicable, will afford better advantages for sighting and communi- 
cating with any party sent out by Lieut. Greely. To make communication surer, 
your party must be able to readily send and receive messages by flag or heliograph, 
and other means, and the necessary articles Should be kept in readiness for instant 
use when communication is possible. 

Should the vessel be unable to get through the ice to Lady Franklin Bay or to reach 
the west coast at points above Cape Sabine, it will be of great importance that Lieut. 
Greely should know of the efforts being made to relieve him and of the plans for 
doing so. You will endeavor, therefore, to convey such intelligence and omit no means 
of informing him or any of his party of the situation. Should any landings be made 
at prominent points on either coast during the efforts to get through the ice, you will 
leave a short record of the facts, with such information as it is desirable to convey, so 
deposited and marked as to render it discoverable by iJarties traveling southward. If 
such landings be made at points where caches of provisions are located, you will, if 
possible, examine them and replace any damaged articles of food, leaving, of course', 
a record of your action. 

If it should become clearly apparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through, you 
will retreat from your advanced position and land your party and stores at or near 
Life-Boat Cove, discharge the relief vessel, with orders to return to St. John's, N. F., 
and prepare for remaining with your party until relieved next year. As soon as pos- 
sible after landing, or in case your vessel becomes unavoidably frozen up in the ice- 



APPENDIX. 119 

pack, you will endeavor to communicate with Lieut. Greely by taking personal charge 
of a party of the most experienced and hardy men, equipped for sledging, carrying 
such stores as is practicable to Cape Sabine, whence a smaller party, more lightly 
equipped, still headed by yourself, will push as far north as possible, or until Lieut. 
Greely's party is met. In this and other matters you will follow closely the instruc- 
tions of Lifut. Greely, dated August 17, 1881, a printed copy of which is furnished you 
herewith. (Enclosure"!.") 

The men not employed in these expeditions will lose no time in preparing the house 
for the whole party, and in securing the stores preparatory to the arrival of Lieut. 
Greely. 

You will be furnished two observers and an outfit of scientific apparatus, and will 
be gtiided in their use by instructions herewith. The character and amount of the 
meteorological and other scientific work to be accomplished by your party is enumer- 
ated in enclosed memoranda marked B, C, D, E. 

In addition to the medical officer, enlisted men taken from this city, you will employ 
three hardy ice-men at St. John's who have been already selected by the U. S. consul 
there under my direction, and in Greenland such Esquimaux as you may require. 

It is important that a careful and complete record of events should be made, and in 
case your party does not return this year that a full report be sent by the vessel on 
her return to St. John's. Each member of your party will be required to keep a private 
diary, which will be open to the inspection of the Chief Signal Officer only in case it 
should be necessary. Whenever a junction is effected with Lieut. Greely you will 
report to him with your party for duty. 

Should any important records or instruments have been left behind by Lieut. 
Greely in his retreat, they may be recovered by the steamer to be sent in 1884. 

It is believed that with the stores and supplies sent last year, which are at St. 
John's, N. P., and at the Greenland ports, a list of which is herewith furnished (en- 
closure " 3"), and which you will gather on your way northward, together with the 
provisions and articles supplied this year, everything needful will have been fur- 
nished for safety and success. I believe and expect that you will zealously endeavor 
to effect the object of the expedition, which is to succeed in relieving your comrades, 
since upon your efforts their lives may depend, and yon cannot overestimate the 
gravity of the work entrusted to your charge. 

A ship of the United States Navy, the Yantic, will accompany you as far as Little- 
ton Island, rendering you such aid as may become necessary and as may be deter- 
mined by the captain of that ship and yourself, when on the spot. 

With my best wishes for your success and the safe return of the united party, 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, V. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9. .i883. 



Memorandum A. 

Instructions for closing scientific work at Camp Conger. 

1st. Before closing the station have all thermometers and barometers carefully com- 
pared. 

2nd. Continue all meteorological observations on land to the latest practicable 
moment. 

3rd. Prepare for meteorological observations on the homeward voyage by properly 
establishing on the vessel a marine and aneroid barometer and some thermometers, 
and have simultaneous comparative observations made on the vessel and on the land. 

4th. Let the astronomical instruments on shore remain in place to the latest prac- 
ticable moment, and secure numerous comparisons of chronometers and determinations 
of time and azinuth. 

5th. Shortly before sailing carry the chronometers carefully ou shipboard, and make 
full comparisons between them and the ship's chronometers ; also, before sailing, obtain 
as many determinations of time as possible by observations on the vessel. During the 
voyage maintain daily chronometer comparisons and observations of time, latitude, 
and longitude by lunar distances. Stop on the Greenland coast and obtain special 
time observations for chronometric longitude on the meridian of some well-determined 
station. Ou arriving at St. John's, Halifax, and New York, make special time observa- 
tions and comparisons with time-balls while in these harbors. 



120 APPENDIX. 

6tli. During the voyage maintain meteorological observations at 3, 7, and 11 a. m,, 
and 3, 7, and 11 p. m., Washington time, and more frequently if possible. On arrival 
at New. York make comparative simnltaneous readings on the vessel, then carry all 
the instruments to the Army Signal Oifice and compare them with the substandards 
at that station. 

7th. Have the barometers and delicate thermometers brought carefully by hand to 
this office for further comparisons. 

8th. Before leaving Camp Conger all the thermometers used should be compared 
at the lowest possible temperatiires, and in the following manner: 

A mercurial thermometer should be selected as a standard of reference for tempera- 
tures as low as 30 degrees Fah. For holding the thermometers a tin thermometer 
tester, with the perforated diaphragm knocked out, will suffice. "When readings are 
being made this should be placed within its contained liquid (brine or spirit) in an 
ordinary water pail, and the surrounding space filled with a mixture having nearly 
the same temperature as the liquid ccaitained in the tin. The thermometers should 
not be allowed to rest with their bulbs on ihe bottom while being read, but should 
be held in the hand, 3 or 4 at a time, and readings made after thoi'oughly stiring the 
liquid. 

The spirit thermometers should be kept at the temperature to be compared for at 
least twenty minutes. For mercurial thermometers a much shorter exposure suffices 
— say 5 minutes. 

A low artificial temperature can be obtained by mixing ice (or snow) and salt in 
the proportion of 2 parts, by weight of ice, to one of salt. In making comparisons 
at low temperatures, this mixture should be put in the tin and around the tin in the 
pail. The mixture in the tin should be stirred thoroughly. 

Comparative readings should be made at — (5 deg. F. or lower, and at +2 deg., +12 
deg., +22 deg., +.32 deg., and +42 deg. The readings of all the thermometers at 
freezing point should be noted. 

If the external temperature renders it possible to obtain comparisons below — 6 
deg., the brine should be replaced with alcohol, whisky, or coal oil. 

9th. You will provide, if possible, that the magnetic instruments and observers of 
Lieut. Garlington's party be lauded temporarily at Camp Conger, and a complete 
series of independent astronomical and magnetic observations be made by them, ac- 
cording to their own methods, including a comparison of chronometers, barometers, 
and thermometers, and determination of the bearing of your. azimuth marks. 

10th. Verify the dates of your calendars. 

11th. Should your combined party be held in the ice at Camp Conger, or remain- 
during the winter of 1883 and 1884 at Life-Boat Cove, or at any point, you will as far 
as possible continue the old or make a new and complete series of astronomical, mag- 
netic, and meteorological observations, take the precaution to check your work by 
independent determinations of important data by each of the methods in which your 
men have been instructed. 



Memorandum B. 

Scientific outfit of the Lady FrankUn Bay relief expedition of 1883. 

1. 75-foot tape line. 

2. 2 tin thermometer testers. 

3. 2 sextants. 

4. 1 mercurial horizon. 

5. 1 solid horizon and level. 

6. 1 plumb line. 

7. 1 pocket chronometer. 

8. 2 marine chronometers (mean time). 

9. 2 " " (sidereal time). 

10. charts of Smith's Sound. 

11. 4 thermometer shelters (cotton belt). 

12. 12 ordinary stem-divided mercurial thermometers. 

13. 6 ordinary stem-divided spirit thermometers. 

14. 6 minimum stem-divided spirit thermometers. 

15. 6 ordinary stem-divided spirit thermometers with cups and supports (for wet 

bulb). "^ 

16. 6 maximum stem-divided mercurial thermometers. 

17. 6 special low minimum stem-divided spirit thermbmeters. 

18. 6 Yale minimum stem-divided thermometers. 



APPENDIX. 121 

19. 1 Allnard dew-point apparatus with bellows and three long-stem low-spirit ther- 

mometers. 

20. 36 half-pint cans of ether. 

21. 6 Signal Service water thermometers and 3 cases. 

22. 2 Kappe's hair hygrometers. 

23. aP'pair Arago-Davy conjugate thermometers. 

24. 2 " VioUe conjugate bulbs with supports. i 

25. 2 mercurial marine barometers. 

26. 2 " cistern " and leather cases. 

27. 4 extra glass barometer tubes, cisterns, and bags, 

28. 4 extra attached thermometers. 

29. 40 lbs. pure mercury. 

30. 2 aneroid barometers. 

31. 2 single self-registers for anemometers (Gibbon). 

32. 1 small wind-vane. 

33. 4 Robinson's anemometers (heavy pattern). 

34. 4 extra anemometer cups. 

35. 4 galvanized iron rain-gauges. 

36. 10 measuring sticks (6 snow and 4 rain). 

37. 10 cells Eagle battery and 317 lbs. copperas. 

38. 100 feet cable for self-register. 

39. 2,000 yartls insulated wire for telephones. 

40. 8 telephones, viz, 4 transmitters and 4 receivers. 

41. 4 telephone call-boxes. 

42. 4 Le Clanche batteries. 

43. 4 copper " grouuds." 

44. 10 dark lanterns (brass). 

45. 150 blank books. 

46. 12 " daily journals. 

47. 280 star charts for auroras. 

48. 750 forms, ^ 102, for self-register. 

49. 1 tool chest (Signal Service). 

50. 1 medicine chest. 

51. Supply of wicking for lanterns, 

52. 2 chamois skins. 

53. 4 boxes pens. 

54. 2 reams legal cap. 

55. 4 " letter paper. 
66. 2 " note paper. 

57. 2 " foolscap. 

58. 4 qts. Arnold's ink. 

59. 1 doz. capstan bars. 

60. 1 reading glass. 

61. 1 spool double silk fibre. 

62. 1 bottle clock oil. 

63. 2 universal awls. 

64. 1 extra sun-shade. 

65. 1 bottle shellac. « 

66. 2 large brass lanterns. 

67. 6 extra level tubes for theodolite. 

68. 3 '' " " " dip circle. 

69. 1 ream computing paper. 

70. 120 copies form 101. 

71. 750 " " 120. 

72. 50 " " 113 a. 

73. 200 " " 117. 

74. 50 " " 127 b. 

75. 50 " " 132 a. 

76. 50 " " 132 fe. 

77. .50 " " 140. 

78. 10 " instructions to observers. 

79. 2 " '' " " with latest corrections. 

80. 10 " card table for reduction to freezing. 

81. 12 " Signal Service Order 41, 1881 (dew-point tables). 

82. 50 " form 124. 

83. 4 sets Signal Service property returns. 

84. 10 " " " invoices and receipts. 

85. 3 boxes paper fasteners. 

86. 6 sets quartermaster's returns. 

87. 650 " pay-vouchers. ^ 



122 APPENDIX. 

88. 1 ream heavy manilla paper. 

89. 2 spools red tape. 

90. 1,000 envelopes. 

91. 100 envelopes (white). 

92. 100 sheets blotting paper. 

93. 2 small blotters. ♦ 

94. 12 gross rubber bands. 

95. 12 doz. lead pencils (8 soft, 4 hard). 

96. 2 doz. pen-holders. 

97. 1 volume " Meteorological record." 

98. Material for magnetic observatory, 10 ft. x 10 x 7, all wood, with copper nails 

and brass hinges. 

99. 20 lbs. 8-penny nails. 

100. 1 copy Treatise on aneroid barometers. 

101. 1 " Admiralty manual of scientific inquiry. 

102. 1 copy Arctic manual, 1875. 

103. 1 " V6ga's logarithms. 

104. 2 copies Nautical Almanac, 1883. 

105. 2 " " " 1884. 

106. 1 copy Chauvenet's Astronomy. 

107. 1 " " Trigonometry. 

108. 2 copies Loomis' Meteorology. 

109. 2 " Guyot's Tables. 

110. 1 copy Everett's Deschanel. 

111. 1 " Bowditch useful tables. 

112. 2 copies Negur on chronometers. 

113. 1 magetometer with tripod. 

114. 1 dip circle with tripod. 

115. 1 alt. azimuth with tripod. 

116. 2 marine glasses. 

117. 1 record box, padlock, and key. 

118. 2 Grugan heliostats. 

119. 2 cans, cases, and straps. 

120. 2 canteens and straps. 

121. 2 extinguishers, foot. 

122. 2 " flying. 

123. 2 flags, 4 foot, red. 

124. 2 '< " " white. 

125. 2 funnels. 

126. 2 shades, flame, foot. 

127. 2 " " flying. 

128. 2 pair scissors. 

129. 2 jointed staffs, complete. 

130. 4 straps, small. 

131. 2 torches, foot. 

132. 2 " flying. 

133. 2 pairs pliers. 

134. 2 wormers. 

135. 1 Webster's dictionary. 

136. 1 tub for exposure of Arago-Davy thermometer. 



Memorandum " C." 
Instructions as to ohservaiions on the voyage. 

1. From the time of leaving Washington until your return you will, when at sea, 
determine your time, latitude and longitude, daily, unless the weather prevents. 

2. Wind and compare together all the chronometers daily, and keep them at as 
nearly uniform temperature as possible. In addition to the regvilar time observations 
you will compare the chronometers with the time balls at New York, Halifax, St. 
John's, &c., and with the chronometers belonging to the vessels ; the care of the 
chronometers will be in accordance with the instructions published by Negur. 

3. Regular observations of meteorological instruments and phenomena will be taken 
at least 6 times daily, namely, at 3, 7, and 11 a. m., and 3, 7, and 11 p. m., Washington 
time, and oftener if practicable ; this record will be maintained from the time of leav- 
ing Washington until your return ; if for any reason the number of observations must 
of necessity be diminished, then at least the 7 a. m., 3 and 11 p. m. will be taken. 
Duplicate copies of all these should be made up daily for transmission to this office 



APPENDIX. 123 

whenever opportunity occurs. Copies of the 7 a. m. observation on Form 124 are 
particularly desired. 

4. In order to execute the observations you will carry by hand and keep with you the 
necessary sextants, chronometers, barometers, thermometers, &c., and will have them 
properly established on the vessel that carries you from New York and transferred to 
the search vessel on your arrival at St. John's. When similar instruments are already 
in use on board of these various vessels you will have proper comparisons made with 
these. Without in the least intermitting your own astronomical and meteorological 
observations you will obtain complete copies of the logs and observations made by 
the officers of the vessels on which you may be and make such notes as may explain 
any discrepancies as to dates and styles of records. 

5. When at any port, if possible, you will either directly, or by means of an interme- 
diate portable barometer, make comparisons between your own and those used by 
meteorological observers in other cities. 

The following is a list of stations where comparisons are desirable : 

New York City Signal Service, substandard. 

Halifax, A. Allison. 

St. John's, Newfoundland, John Delaney. 

Ivigtut, Greenland. 

Godthaab, Greenland, S. Kleinschmidt. 

Jacobshaven, or Disco. 

Upernavik, Greenland, Eldberg (the governor of the colony). 

Should you by stress of weather be driven to any of the meteorological stations on 
the coast of Labrador, or to the German station in Cumberland Sound, you will carry 
out similar comparisons. 

6. Should you have occasion to stay for more than 2 or 3 days at any station on the 
Greenland or other coast you will have the magnetic apparatus carefully landed, and 
secure one or more determinations of declination, dip, ^ intensity. 



Memorandum D. 
Instructions for Lieut. Garlington, at Life-Boat Cove. 

1. Should you be unable to reach Lieut. Greely and be obliged to return to Life- 
Boat Cove and stay there during the winter of '83-'84, you will as soon as possi- 
ble erect the magnetic observatory, establish the instruments in place, and maintain 
a series of observations in general accordance with the instructions heretofore issued 
by the International Polar Commission (see Special Orders 87 and 92, 1880) and those 
verbally given to your own observers. 

2. The meteorological observations will be made as before, at least six times a day, 
and if possible more frequently; the absolute magnetic elements will be determined 
several times during the day on the Ist and 15th of each month, and by each observer 
independently. Observations for true latitude and longitude by lunar distances will 
be made as often as necessary ; tidal observations will be made dally through holes 
cut in the ice ; special observations of auroras and other phenomena will be made as 
occasion requires. 

3. Observations on the thickness of the ice, the currents, and temperature of the 
water, its color and clearness, the nature of any sediment contained within it, as also 
the minute vegetable and animal matter; in short, whatever bears on the opening 
and closing of the channel will be carefully recorded. Characteristic specimens of the 
water should be preserved in glass-stoppered bottles. 

4. One pair Violle conjugate bulb on short stands and one pair of Arago-Davy 
conjugate thermometers (in the center of the black iron tub) will be established side by 
side about 1 ft. apart, fully exposed to the sunshine and sky, and another pair of each, 
also side by side, but on long staves about 4 ft. above the ground. All will be made 
at each regular hour of observation. (The Arago-Davy conjugate thermometers have 
unfortunately been made as maximum thermometers and must be set after each obser- 
vation preparatory to the next one. They should be read both before and after set- 
ting.) Experimental observations should be made as to the eff'ect of covering the 
ground for several feet around and beneath these thermometers with sail-cloth, furs, 
snow, &c. 

.5. The observations of heights of clouds, auroral arcs, &c., will be facilitated by 
establishing telephonic connection between two observers furnished with sextants, a 
short distance, say 1,000 y'ds apart. The distance of any terrestrial object may be 
similarly determined. 

6. The effect of earth currents is to produce peculiar sounds in the telephone ; these 
may be observed by connecting the copper plates (that are to be buried in the ground 



124 APPENDIX. 

or the water) to the ends of a line of about 1,000 y'ds long of insulated wire. Insert 
the telephones into the circuit and observe the sounds. Record will be made at regu- 
lar hours of the intensity and character of the noises heard in the telephones con- 
nected, respectively, with the north, south, east, and west lines. For further details 
you are referred to Special Order 97 & 102 of 1881, and Instructions No. 72 and 76, and 
the appendices to the annual report C. S. O. for 1881, all of which are herewith sup- 
plied. 

7. Observations with Koppe's hair hygrometer will be made in accordance with the 
instructions of Goldschmidt, furnished herewith. The dry and wet hygrometer should 
be ventilated at all observations with a fan or hand-bellows. Observations of the 
dew point by means of the Allnard dew point apparatus will be made at least once a 



Memorandum '' E." 

If frozen in the pack-ice of Smith's Sound before reaching Camp Conger, you will 
maintain regular meteorological observations on or near the vessel as well as practi- 
cable. 

2. The astronomical and magnetic instruments will be established on the pack ice, 
and all special observations kept as far as practicable, the instruments should of 
course be removed to the vessel on the least evidence of danger. If connection is 
opened with Lieut. Greely, and his party moves down to your vessel, he will provide 
that the independent observations by your observers be kept up with as little inter- 
ruption as possible and that the proper comparisons with his instruments be made. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



- ■ [Encloflore 3.] 

lAst of stores at Saint John^s <yr cached, invoiced to Lieut. Garlington by Lieut. Craig, Junt 

17, 19, July 1 and 28. 

1,080 lbs. pemmican. 
192 " sausage (2 lb. c). 
200 " chicken (2 1b. c). 
488 " mutton, roast (21b. c). 
100 " turkey (2 lb. c). 

Value in Army rations, 2,060. 

288 Ibs.okra (2 1b.). 
240 " whortleberries (2 lb.). 

60 galls, lime juice. 

50 lbs. dried cherries. 

24 bottles horse-radish flour. 
60 galls, rum (| bbls.). 

408 lbs. squash (cans). 
384 " blueberries ( 2 lb.). 
600 " carrots (2 lb. cans). 
600 '' turnips (2 lb. cans). 
162 " chocolate. 

300 ext. coffee. 

60 galls, cider {\ bbls.). 

250 lbs. peach butter. 
250 " pear butter. 
250 " plum butter. 

40 pairs drawers. 
150 " Iceland hose. 

25 ' " S. S. boots (soled). 
50 pairs S. S. boots (unsoied). 
49^ yds. red flannel. 

60 pairs cloth gloves. 

50 " boots (gussett and B.). 



APPENDIX. 125 



10 


seal skins. 


6 


tons dried seal meat. 


240 


fathoms manilla rope. 


100 


lbs. oakum. 


200 


yds. cotton duck. 


3 


balls twine. 


2 


tackle and vise. 


2 


whale boats. 


18 


boat oars fl4 feet). 


2 


sprits and sails. 


2 


barrels cement. 


3,012 


feet dressed boards. 


1,494 


" clear boards. 


2,517 


" pine " 


170 


ps. flooring. 


1,000 


brick. 


5 


packages copper nails. 


25 


" tacks. 


2 


gross screws. 


10 


lbs. ass. staples. 


i 


cord wood. 


160 


galls, alcohol. 


432 


bxs. wax matches. 


2 


hand lamps. 


2 


lanterns (B and E). 


100 


galls, signal oil. 


25 


lbs. gunpowder. 


100 


zinc i)attery. 


1 


theodolite. 


1 


sextant (small). 


1 


hygrometer. 


100 


lbs. excelsior. 


i gall, clock oil. 


15 


large diaries. 


25 


small " 


4 


S. S. P. returns (sets). 


10 


S. S. I. and receipt (sets) 


«0 


S. S. Pur. and Ex. 


60 


Forms No. 52. 


40 


inserts. 


10 


Abs. D. 


6 


Ins. to 0. S. 


6 


temp, tables. 


24 


rolls pins. 


24 


journals. 


6 


reams cap paper. 


3 


bxs. paper fasteners. 


6 


sets Q. M. returns. 


3 


Army Reg. 


650 


Nau. Almanac. 


40 


Forms No. 101. 


400 


" " 102. 


50 


" 113a. 


1 


Met. Record. 


3 


Ins. to Obs. S. S. 


12 


Forms 127 B. 


6 


" 132a. 


6 


" 132b. 


30 


" 140. 


1 


Travels in Siberia. 


1 


Schwatka. 


1 


Revenue Cutter Corwin. 


12 


lbs. hektograph material 


120 


collodion plates. 


5 


dry slate boxes. 


2 


Ger. Arctic Ex. 


1 


Ger. Star Cab. 


14 


reams letter paper. 


4,000 


envelopes. 



126 APPENDIX. 

8 groBs pens. 
400 sheets blotting paper. 

2 small blotters. 

12 gross rubber bands. 

3 steel erasers. 

16 doz. lead pencils. 
3 " pen holders. 

2 reams note paper. 

1 " wrapping paper. 

3 rulers. 

12 spools tape. 

10 balls twine. 

1, 000 C. lined envelopes. 

1 chart N. P., No. 278. 

1 " '' 2178. 

1 " " 235. 

1 " " 2117. 

1 '' " 2282. 

1 " " 2118. 

1 " " 2382. 

1 " "• 276. 

1 " " 274. 

2 C. Polar charts. 

1 nail-puller. 

3 hatchets. 

2 oz. pyrogallic acid. i 
2i lbs. sal ammoniac. 

5 " sal soda. 

6 " soda hyposulphite. 
^ " bro. potassium. 

400 " sulphate copper. 
Returned to N. Y. by error and stored with depot C. S.: 
Blue berries (48 jars). 
Ex. cotfee(140 1bs.). 
Peach butter (2 cases, 12 5-pound cans). 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief /Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



Enclosure 4.1 

The naval tender to join the Proteus at St. John's, N. F., and to proceed with her to 
the neighborhood of Littleton Island. 

The Proteus to land her stores, except supplies for more northerly depots, at Littleton 
Island, on her way north. If she succeeds in reaching Lady Franklin Bay to pick up 
the stores, excepting the house and depots, if possible on her return. The naval tender 
■will await the return of the Proteus at the neighborhood of Littleton Island, and 
on her return steam to the south in her company, until she reaches the southern 
limits of the ice-pack, when the vessels may separate. Should the Proteus be crushed 
in the ice, her crew will retire on Littleton Island, and the tender will bring to Saint 
John's, N. F., the officers and crew of the Proteus. The rest of the party to remain 
at Littleton Island. But should the ice reuder it dangerous for the tender to remain 
in the neighborhood of Littleton Island until the Proteus returns, or her crew and 
the expeditionary force succeed in reaching there, the tender may go to the south, 
leaving full particulars at Littleton Island. 

Signals by flags, heliograph, and guns should be preconcerted, and communication 
by this means should be maintained between the too vessels as long as possible after 
they are separated by the passage north of the Proteus. 

Nothing in the northward movement must be allowed to retard the progress of the 
Proteus. It is of the utmost importance that she take advantage of every lead to 
get up to Lady Franklin Bay. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 127 

(176.) 

Memorandum left for verification to A. G. 0. 

[Special Orders No. 128. J 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, June 5, 1883. 
[Extract.] 

1. By direclion of the Acting Secretary of War, Sergeant George W. Wall, Company 
K, 3d Infantry, will proceed from this city to St. John's, STewfoundland, by the steamer 
leaving New York on the 7th instant, on duty connected with the Lady Franklin Bay 
expedition. The journey, as directed, is necessary for the public service. 

# # * * » v «. 

By command of General Sherman: 

E. C. DEUM, 
Adjutant-General. 
Official : 

M. Barber, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 



(177.) 
[L. S., vol. 17, Mis., 1883, page 362.] 

Washington, D. C, June 5, 1883, 
let Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Comd^g Belief Exped. to Lady Franklin Bay : 
Sir : The Chief Signal Officer instructs me to direct you to purchase in New York 
City for the use of your expeditionary force a reasonable number of paper balloons 
and four dozen Coston lights, with the necessary equipments. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Arfy, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(178.) 

Memorandum left for verification to A. G. 0. 

[Special Orders No. 129.] 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, June 6, 1883. 
[Extract.] 
« * * » * * ■* 

7, By direction of the Secretary of War, in order to carry into execution the act 
approved IVIay 1, 1880, and so much of the act approved IMarch 3, 1883, entitled "An 
act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1884, and for other purposes," as provides for " Observation and 
exploration in the Arctic seas : For completing the work of scientific observation and 
exploration on or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transportation of men 
and supplies to said location and return " — 

It is ordered, that 1st Lieutenant Ernest A. Garlington, 7th Cavahy, acting signal 
officer, shall take command of the relief expedition now organizing, and proceed from 
this city by rail to New York City, thence by the United States steamer " Yantic" to 
St. John's, Newfoundland, and carry out such instructions as he shall receive from the 
Chief Signal Officer of the Army. Transportation will be furnished by the Quarter- 



128 APPENDIX. 

master's Departmeut from Washiugton City to New York City for Lieutenant Garl- 
ington, one acting assistant surgeon, and ten enlisted men. 
By command of General Sherman : 

K. C. DRUM, 

Adjuta7it-General, 



(179.) 
[Vol. 27, p. 298— Telegram.] 

Washington, June 6, 1883. 
To Lt. E. A. Garlington, 

Grand Hotel, Neic Yorlc : 
The Secretary of the Navy will order hammocks, bedding, and subsistence for your 
party, and the transportation of the small quantity of stores, personal baggage, and 
mail. 

• HAZEN. 

C, 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(180.) 

[Vol- 27, p. 298.— Telegram.] 

Washington, June 6, 1883. 
To Lieut. E. A. Garlixgton, 

Grand Hotel, Neiv York : 
Potatoes have been bought at Saint John's. Buy and ship by Alhambra turnips 
and carrots, packed in welX- ventilated barrels, and direct special care in shipment. 

HAZEN. 
C. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(181.) 
IL. S., Vol. 18, Mis., 1883, p. 367.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, June 6, 1883. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

Commanding Belief Vessel to Lady Franklin Bay : 
Sir: The Chief Signal Officer directs that you arrange satisfactorily with Captain 
S. M. Mills, 5th Art'y, P. and D. Officer, Signal Service, U. S. Array, before leaving 
this city, to enable hiin, without fail, to meet the draft for subsistence on the voyage 
of the Proteus, which will be due October 1st from each and every member of your 
party, at the rate of four dollars ($4.00) per week of seven days. In case you leave 
the ship before the first of October, you will please report to the P. and D. Officer, by 
the returning vessel, the dates between which your men were furijished with subsist- 
ence on that vessel, and give a memorandum of the same to the captain of the vessel, 
that there may be no delay in settlement. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
\st Lieut. 2d ArVy, Acting Signal Officer. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



APPENDIX. 129 

(182.) 

[Telegram.— Eeceived at 4.25 p. m., June 6, 1883, dated New York 6.-3363 Mis., '83.] 

To Gen'l W, B. Hazen, C. S. 0., Wasli'n : 

Yantic will not sail until 11 inst. Capt. Wilde tells me it will take seven days to 
make the trip under the most favorable circumstances. The Alhambra will reach 
St. John's 13th inst. If party goes in Yantic there will be no one in St. John's to look 
after stores, etc., for six or eight days, and no one to complete bill of lading. I most 
strongly recommend that the entire party be sent on the Alhambra to-morrow. I have 
asked agents to reserve accommodations until I could hear from you. Personal busi- 
ness requires my return to Wash'n, and I will arrive there at 6 a. m. to-morrow. If 
you approve, please give orders to have my party leave Washington on the half-past 
ten o'clock train to-morrow morning, and I will return with them. Answer, care 
Sam'l Seaman, Pier Nme, N. R. 

E. A. GARLINGTON, Lt. 

Note. — This message was sent to Ft. Myer to Gen'l H. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(183.) 

[Telegram.- Eeceived at Washington, 7.55 p. m., June 6, 1883, dated New York.— 3362, Mis., '83.] 

To Gen'l W. B. Hazen, Wash'n : 

Receiving no rej)ly to my telegram, and matter admitting of no further delay, have 
made arrangements according to original instructions — that is, self and party to go on 
Yantic. Will return to Washington to-morrow night. The party should of course 
remain there. 

E. A. GARLINGTON, Lt, 

Metropolitan Hotel, 
Official copy, from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(184.) 
, [Telegram.— Vol. 27, p. 298.] 

Washington, June 6, 1883. 

To Lt. GARLINGTON, 

(Care Sam'l Seaman, Pier Nine N. R. and Grand Hotel, New York) : 
Send all stores and Sergeant Wall on Alhambra to discharge at St. John's into 
Proteus. The rest of party to go on Yantic. 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(185.) 
[L. S., Vol. 17, Mis., 1883, page 369.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, June 7th, 1883. 
Ist Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

7th Cavalry, A. S. O., Commanding Belief Expedition to Lady FranTclin Bay : 

Sir : I am instructed by the Chief Signal Officer to direct that you be prepared to 

S. Ex. 100— AP 9 



130 APPENDIX. 

trace the different courses of the Proteus as accurately as were those of the Neptune 
last year.- 

I am, very respectfully, your ohedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieut. 2d Arfy, Acting Signal Officer. 
(3 enclosures. — Charts of Neptune's tracks.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(186.) 
[ Telegram.— Eeoeived at 2.25 p. m., June, 21, 1883, dated St. John's, Ne^vfoundland, 21.— 3742, Mis., 83. 

To Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington. 
Arrived at two (2) p. m. 

GAELINGTON, 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(187.) 
[Vol. 28, C. S. 0., page 66.-3636 Mis., '83.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 22, 1883. 
Mr. J. W. Norman, Saint John^s, Neivfoundland : 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 
9th instant, and in reply to say that I explained at length in a letter sent to Consul 
Thomas N. Molloy, under date of June 9th, why you were employed neither for Lieut. 
Garlingtou's party nor for the Yantic, which he is at liberty to show you, if he has 
not already done so. 

I do not know that there is anything to be added to that letter. I consider that 
by your own acts you forfeited your claim to employment by me. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Genl. Chief Signal Officer. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(188.) 
[Vol. 28, C. S. 0., p. 79.— 3741 Mis., 1883.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, June 23, 1883. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : When the Artie relief party was organized I asked for only one officer, 
although two were necessary, because of there being an excellent first sergeant 
Wall, in the party ; he would practically take the place of an officer. Wall was so 
badly injured by an accident at Halifax, as to have caused his return. I view it a& 



APPENDIX. 131 

imperatiye that another of38cer accompany the expedition, and the only way it can 
be done now is for an officer of the Navy, now in St. John's, to he ordered. 

This accompanying application of Lieut. Garlington for Lieut. Colwell will be ap- 
proved by the Honorable Secretary of the Navy, if the Secretary of War will ask for 
it, which I now earnestly request him to do. This will permit of no delay, as the 
'^^ Proteus" will sail from St. John's in a day or two. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l. Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

One enclosure, 3741 Miss., 1883. 

Note. — The above letter was taken in person by Mr. Ashley, 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief ignal Officer, 



(189.) 

[Telegram— Vol. 28, C. S. 0., p. 97, 3741, Mis., '83]. 

Washington, June 2.5,1883. 
To Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

St. John's, N. F. : 

Wall returned here. Eequest for Colwell approved by Secretary War, and acted 
on by Secretary Navy by telegraph. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



HAZEN. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(190.) 

[Telegram received at 3.45 p. m., dated St. John's, N. F., 13, 5997, Mis., '83.] 

Sept. 13, 1883. 
To Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., 

Wash'n : 

It is my painful duty to report total failure of the expedition. The Proteus was 
crushed in pack in latitude 78. 52, long. 74. 25, and sunk on the afternoon of the 
23d July. My party and crew of ship all saved. Made my way across Smith Sound 
and along eastern shore to Cape York ; thence across Melville Bay to Upernavik, ar- 
riving there on 24th Aug. The Yautic reached Upernavik 2d Sept. and left same 
day, bringing entire party here to-day. All well. 



Official coj)y from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 'c3. 



E. A. GARLINGTON. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(191.) 
[Telegram— Vol. 29, C. S. O., page 407.] 

Washington, Sept. 13, 1883. 



To Lt. E. A. Garlington, 

(Care Consul Molloy, Saint John's, N. F.): 
Received news Yantic's arrival and loss. 



132 APPENDIX. 

Did you place any stores for Greely? How much, and where? Can anything more 
be done this year ? 

CAZIARC. 
MILLS. 



Official coiiy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(192.) 

[Telegram dated Sept. 13, 1883— Vol. 18, Mis., page 116.] 

To Lt. E. A. Garlington, 

(Care Consul Molloy, Saint John's, N. F.): 
Received your dispatch. Did you place any stores for Greely ? How much, and 
where ? Can anything more be done this year ? 

CAZIAKC. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



(193.) 
[Telegram received September 14, 3.08 p. m., 1883, dated St. John's, N. F., 14. 5996,'Mis., '83.] 

To Chief Signal Officek, 

Wash^n : 
No stores landed before sinking of ship. About five hundred rations from these 
saved, cached at Cape Sabine ; also large cache of clothing. By the time suitable ves- 
sels could be procured, filled, provisioned, &c., it would be too late in season to ac- 
complish anything this year. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



E. A. GARLINGTON. 



W, B . HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(194.) 

[Telegram— Vol. 29, C. S. O., page 473.] 

Washington, Sept. 14, 1883. 
ToLieut. E. A. Gaklington, St. John's, N. F. : 

Secretaries War and Navy concur in asking full replies from yourself and Comman- 
der Wilde separately or jointly. Why were no stores landed Littleton on your way 
north ? Did Yantic leave any stores anywhere after leaving your disaster ? 

Is the following project feasible : That a steam sealer be chartered to take your 
party northward provisioned for crew, passengers, and twenty additional men, for 
one year, to be purchased at St. John's and elsewhere en route. Outfit completed, all 
dispatch and steam to Upernavik, thence to northernmost attainable harbor west 
coast Greenland, or to Littleton for winter quarters. To pick up dogs, sleds, and na- 
tive drivers in Greenland, and lead small party and as much supplies as possible to 
Littleton Island, or to meet Greely if Littleton Island is attained. 

MILLS. 
Acting Chief Signal Officer. 

Official copv from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Nov. 9, '83. Chief Signal Officer. 



APPENDIX. 133 

(195.) 

[Telegram— Vol. 30, C. S. O., L. S., p. 15. J 

Washixgton, Sept. l.'j, 1883. 
To Geu'l W. B. Hazen, 

Xew Tacoma, W. T.: 
Only five liuiidred ration.s aud some clothing near Cape Sabine. Secretary has just 
decided uo further expedition this year. 

MILLS. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Cliief Signal Officer, 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



(196.) 
[Telegram— Vol. 30., G. S. O., L. S., p. 15.] 

Washington, Sept. 15, 1883. 

To Lt. E. A. G ARLINGTON, 

St.. John's, K. F.: 
Dispatches received. Expedition this year not considered advisable. Will ask for 
return of vonr party by naval vessel. 

MILLS. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9. '83. 



(197.) 
[Telegram received at 10.32 a. m., Sept. 15, 1883 ; dated St. .Johns, N. F., 15, 6059 Mis., ^83.] 

To Chp. Signal Officer, U. S. Army, 

Washington, D. C. : 
Stores were not left at Littleton Island because it was not in my programme to do 
so. It was my intention to establish depot at or near Cape Prescott and to the north- 
ward, as recommended by Lieut. Greely, and to fill gaps caused by Neptune's failure to 
get above Cape Sabine. See Greely letter, Beebe report, and my instructions. Five 
hundred and fifty-five rations left at Upernavaki by Yantic for my party ; part of these 
met me at point forty miles north of Tessusak ; all since returned to Yantic. The ulti- 
mate result of any undertaking to go north at this time extremely problematical; 
chances against its success, owing to dark nights now begun in those regions making 
ice navigation extremely critical work. There is no safe winter anchorage on west 
shore of Greenland between Disco and Pandora harbor, except perhaps North Star 
Bay winter quarters of Saunders. However, there is a bare chance of success, and if 
my recommendations are approved I am ready and anxious to make the effort. My 
plan is to buy a suitable sealer, take the crew from volunteers from crews of Yantic 
and Powhattan, now in this harbor, paying them extra compensation. Lieut. J. C. 
Colwell to command the ship ; two ensigns and one engineer to be taken from those 
who may volunteer from same ship ; also employ competent ice pilot here. The ship 
must be under the U. S. laws and subject to military discipline. I believe nothing 
can be done with foreign civilian officers and crew. In event of not enough seamen 
volunteering, remainder to be enlisted here. Commander Wilde will communicate 
with Navy Dept. If anything is to be done it must be done at once, 

E. A. GARLINGTON. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W, B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



134 APPENDIX. 



(198.) 
[Telegram— Vol. 30, C. S. 0., L. S., p. 38.] 

Washington, Sept. 19, 1883. 



To Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

St. John's, JSr. F. : 
Secretary declines to change the order. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 188S. 



MILLS. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(199.) 

[Vol. 18, '83, Mis., page 133.] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, September 22nd, 1883. 
Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

7th Cav'y, 0. S. 0., New York City: 
Sir : I am directed by the Acting Chief Signal Officer to transmit enclosed here- 
with copy of telegraphic instructions from Headquai'ters of the Army, Adjutant-Gen- 
eral's Office, Wasliington, September 19, 1883, directing that you return to this city 
with the party under your command by naval vessel from Saint John's, N. F., to New 
York City, thence by rail. 

Transportation requests for yourself, one acting assistant surgeon, and seven (7) 
enlisted men from Brooklyn, N. Y., to Washington City are also enclosed herein. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

L. V. CAZIAEC, 
1st Lieut., 2nd Artillery, Acting Signal Officer. 
(4 enclosures.) 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(200.) 

[6689, Mis., '83.J 

Memo. L. F. B. Belief Expedition. 

Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav. 

Dr. J. S. Harrison, surgeon. 

Sergt. John Kenney, 7th Cav. 

Corp. Frank Elwell, Co. "E," 3d Inf. 

Artificer Orville F. Moritz, Co. "A," 17th Inf. 

Pv't John J. IMurphy, Co. "F," 11th Inf. 

" Richard Rogge, Co. " H," 3d Inf. 

" W. H. Lamar, Sig. Corps. 

" F. W. Ellis, " '' 
Returned to Washington, D. C, Oct. 1st, 1883, and reported at the O. C. S. O. for 
duty. 
(Sg'd) BE. 

10-5, '83. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



APPENDIX. 135 

(•2U1.) 
IV(.1. 30, C. S. O., L. S.,p. 314.] 

War Department, O. C. S. O., 

WasMngton City, Oct. 16t7i, 1883. 
Hon. Rob't T. Lincoln, 

Sec'y of War : 

Sir: I have tlie houor to inclose the report of Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry j 
upon the expedition sent to the Arctic Seas this summer for the relief of the Inter- 
national Meteorological Expedition, under the command of Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. 
S. A. The report describes the passage of the ship "Proteus," carrying stores and a 
rescuing party for Lieut. Greely. The failiu-e to find stores and dogs ready in Green- 
land, as had been expected, is not understood, since the Danish Government liad been 
communicated with ujion that subject at the proper time, which is all that could be 
done, or had been usual in previous years. The question of supplementary orders that 
Mr. Garlington refers to as having been raised, and in unfairness to himself, is in sub- 
stance correctly stated by him. 

After Lieut. Greely arrived in Lady Franklin Bay, in 1881, he wrote out and sent to 
this office full directions for the party that might be sent to relieve him, ending as 
follows: "No deviation from these instructions should be permitted- Latitude of 
action should not be given to a relieving party who, on a known coast, are searching 
for men who know their plaus and orders." This made it a matter of delicacy to give 
any directions that might in any manner change the program there laid out. Con- 
gress had, however, added another element to the question, in this, that the party 
should be brought away this summer. This at first caused tlie instruction to be de- 
termined upon that the stores be landed at Littleton Island before going north of 
that point. 

Afterwards it was arranged to send a ship of the U. S. Navy with the "Proteus" 
as a convoy and this so far obviated the absolute necessity of first stopping to un- 
load at Littleton Is., the convoy itself being a depot, that it was thought best that 
Lieut. Greely's should remain as Lieut. Garlington's guide, and that it be suggested 
only that the landing be first made. Just before starting, Lieut. Garlington brought 
a copy of a memorandum that had been prepared for the Sec'y of the Navy to aid 
him in preparing instruction to the convoy, which contained the original condition 
of first landing at Littleton Island, explaining that it would conflict with the plans 
of Lieut. Greely so far as it should consume the time of the expedition, and iu case he 
should find clear weather and open water beyoud, with a fair prospect of getting 
straight through, while by stopping.he might lose the opportunity, if he should not 
at once proceed. I replied that the authority and discretion which must always rest 
with the commauder on the spot must iu such case be his guide The great delicacy 
in imposing positive instructions in cases like this seemed to make the simple sugges- 
tion in that paper sufficient. The strictures upon Lieut. Garlington, so far as they 
refer to disobedience, have been unwarranted. As to the situation of Lieut. Greely and 
his party, while serious, I do not consider it desperate, and fully look for his rescue 
next season, preparation for which must be timely and complete. 

Lieut. Garlington has been asked to explain more fully, 1st, why he did not en- 
deavor to make a depot at Littleton's Island with what stores he could gather during 
the remaining time he might have remained in that region ; 2d, why a large propor- 
tion of Mr. Greely's stores was abandoned upon an ice floe so long as the season still 
permitted work with boats ; .3d, why out of six boats none were left for Mr. Greely 
and his party ; 4th, why he started south with 40 days' supplies in place j)lac6 of leav- 
ing a large portion for Lieut. Greely, when the country was full of game, seals, walrus, 
and fish, and the party well suijplied with means for its capture, which was an ample 
source of food ; 5th, w'hy he came south of Cape York at all, it being in the friendly 
Esquimaux country and fairly supplied with the necessaries of life. 

These explanations will be furnished you as soon as received. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig. 4- Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Note. — Enc. was 7076, Mis., 1883 (Lieut. Garlington's report, with api^endices). 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



136 APPENDIX. 

(202.) 
[Vol. 12, '83, page 179-] 

War Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, October 17th, 1883. 
Ist Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 

7th Cav., Acting Signal Officer, Washington, D. C. .- 
Sir : I am directed by the Chief Signal Officer to inform you that he desires you to> 
submit, as soon as possible, a complete project for next year's expedition to the Arctic 
Bcas for the relief of Lieut. Greely and party. 

Very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

LOUIS V. CAZIARC, 
1st Lieutenant, 2d JrtiUerii, Acting Signal OffiGei\ 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN. 

Chief Signal Officer. 



(203.) 
1 [L. S., Vol. 30, C. S. 0., page 400, 7244, Mis., '83.] 

AVAR Department, 
Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Oct.23d, 1883. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir: I have the honor to forward herewith a communication from 1st Lieutenant 
E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav., dated October 20,1883, in answer to one of the 18th inst., 
calling on him for a report in addition and extension to that heretofore rendered, with 
letter of same date. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, » 

H. H. C. DUNWOODY, 
Isi Lieut., Ath Artillery, Acting Chief Signal Officer. 
(One enclosure.) 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(204.) 



War Department, 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Nov. lith, 1883. 

Major Henry Goodfellow,' 

Recorder, Court of Lnquiry, Washington, D, C. : 
Sir: I havethehonor to transmit herewith for the use of the court of inquiry, official 
copies of papers from the records of this office relative to the original project for the 
Greely expedition as adopted; the statementof stores taken by Lieut. Greely; the state- 
ment of stores cached by him ; and the letter requesting the detail of a naval escort 
for the Proteus. 

I am, very respectfully, yoiir obedient servant, 

' ^ ^ '^'"^ W. B. HAZEN, 

Brig, cf Bvt. Maj. GenU, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

[36 inclosures:] 990 mis., 1881; 30 iucl's and mem.; L. S., May 14, 1883; 3312 mas., 
1883, and ext. 3579 mis., 1881. 
C. H. C. 



APPENDIX. 137 

(205.) 
[A. Incl. I, 990, O. C. S. O., mis., 1881.1 

Trieste, 20, 5, '79. 

Dear Sir : I had already in Rome tbe honor to lay under your consideration the 
project of an international polar expedition, whose realization Count Wilczek and 
myself have been pursuing during the latter years. Circumstances then did not point 
to converse more than very superficially on the subject, and I now take the liberty to 
return more amply to it. 

You know already our Adews on Polar investigation. We are of the opinion that 
its scientific results, especially the furtherance of our knowledge in the different 
branches of the physics of the earth, have hitherto, on the whole, not been adequate 
to the very large means expended on Polar research. One of the reasons of this de- 
plorable fact we believe to be the somewhat too partially topographical perception 
of its aims; another consists therein that all the expeditious to the Polar regions 
have been isolated. The observations of the phenomena peculiar to those parts made 
by the different expeditions cannot be compared with one another in consequence of 
the want of homogeneousness and simultaueousness. It is a fact that we are still in 
utter darkness concerning the laws governing the magnetical perturbations, the 
northern lights, the meteorological and hydrographical phenomena, etc., for want of 
serviceable observations notwithstanding the many Polar esifeditions and the large 
amount of work and money spent upon them. 

Already for some years Count Wilczek and myself have had the intention to make 
on our own expense, an expedition to Novajazambja, whose only aim would be the 
systematical observations of the above-named phenomena. We took the necessary 
steps to induce others to the organization of simultaneous expeditions, with the pur- 
pose of making congenious and synchronous observations according to mutual agree- 
ment on other points of the Polar regions. I hereby inclose a prospectus of our view& 
on the manner in which the observations would best be performed, and on the work 
which would have to be done. It is only a proposition from our side, and we of course 
do not expect to see it accepted without previously being thoroughly discussed. 

The scientific importance of our propositions has been generally acknowledged, and 
have had the best holies to see them realized. Unfortunately the wretched political 
conditions of Europe during the latter years prevented every definitive arrangement. 

You know that our proposals have been warmly recommended by the permanent 
committee of the international meterological congress, and that one of the questions 
which had to be taken into consideration at Rome was, in what manner the congress 
could best further them. 

Most of the representatives of the difterent states were without instructions and 
powers, and it was therefore impossible to come to a definitive agreement. With 
the view to hasten the matter, the congress has charged its permanent committee to 
prepare a special conference of representatives of those States which in any manner 
would like to participate in this international enterprise, provided with the necessary 
instructions and authority. This conference will meet in Hamburg, on the 1st October^ 
1879. 

Of course, we cannot assure positively, which states will take an active part But 
if we can rely on the communications of scientific corporations and of eminent private 
persons, it would appear that probably a number of stations will be established in 
the Arctic and one or two in the Antarctic regions, so that at least around the North 
Pole, synchronous observations would be taken nearly on every side. 

But this girth would show a large void, if the United States of America excluded 
themselves. 

It is probable that Russia will establish one station in Siberia, near the mouth of 
the Lena, and Denmak, one on the cost of West Greenland. It is of the utmost im- 
portance that the observations of these two places be completed by an intermediate 
station. 

I take now the liberty to remind you of a place which every year can be reached 
without great difficulties, and which by its position offers the most favorable condi- 
tions, i. e., Point Barrow, to theNE. of Bering Strait in71o 21' N., and 156° 15' E. Gr. 
It was the wintering place of Commander B. Maguire, with the Plover in 1852-53 
and '53-54. We have therefrom two nine-monthly series of observations on meteor- 
ology, magnetism and northern lights. A new wintering would furnish the first ex- 
isting dates on the secular changes of terrestrial magnetism from the regious of the 
large perturbations. The position of this point is very favorable also to meteorolog- 
ical observations. It lies on a vast level coast without remarkable risings near an 
icy sea of unknown extension. 

I need not speak to you, the chief of the most complete and extensive meteorolog- 
ical system of the world, and the promoter of synchronous observations, about the 
scientific value of the proposed undertaking. 



138 APPENDIX. 

I am sure that the United StateiS of America, who always took such an active in- 
terest in Polar research, and who offered so many sacrifices to it, will not exclude 
themselves if a general understanding can be brought about. But to this effect it 
would be.necessaiy that your Government send an authorized I'epresentative to the 
conference in Hamburg. I take the liberty to ask you to exert yourself in this di- 
rection. 

Believe me, dear sir, sincerely yours, 

WEYPEECHT. 

To Gen'l Albert Myer, 

Chief of the U. S. Signal Office. 

Endorsed as follows : 

( War ) 

5886 < 1 V1881. 

( Dept. S 
1349. O. C. S. O. Mis., 1879. 
A I enclosure 1. (990. O. C. S. O. Mis. 1881.) 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W, B. HAZEN, 
Nov. 13, '83. Chief Signal Officer. 



(206.) 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, Sept. 8, 1879. 
Lieutenant Charles Weyprecht, Imperial Navy, Trieste, Austria: 

Sir : I have had the honor of laying before the Secretary of War your communica- 
tion of May 5, 1879, and am permitted to say that while it is not wholly within the 
scope of the Secretary's duty to entertain the subject of the equipment of an expedi- 
tion to the pole for purposes of geographical discovery, and the subject of such an 
expedition cannot now be considered by the Department, the establishment of a station 
of observation at Point Barrow, Alaska, in correspondence with the system of simul- 
taneous observations now and for some years past conducted on this continent under 
direction of the Secretary of War, is quite within the province of his* office. 

To effect this correspondence referred to the exchange between the proposed extreme 
northern stations of meteorological observations, suitable for the preparation of synop- 
tic charts, and had at the hours of 7a. m., 3 p. m., and 11 p. m., Washington mean time, 
or the equivalent times rated from any other meridian, is necessary. 

The feasibility of maintaining a station of the United States system at the point 
named, the number of men to be required, their protection, maintenance, and the ex- 
pense attendant, will also need to be considered in view of all facts. To this end pre- 
liminary inquiries will be at once commenced. 

If the undertaking is found practicable in the regards mentioned I am quite con- 
fident that the Department will be in readiness to co-operate with any State or States 
or responsible parties in extending in this manner the system of simultaneous obser- 
vations, and will favorably consider the subject of a station at Point Barrow. The 
importance of obsex'vations to be there made is fully realized. 

You may, if you so wish, refer to this letter. 

1 am, sir, very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

ALBERT J. MYER, 
Brig. GenH, (Bvt. Ass^g^d), Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offlcer. 
O. C. S. O., November 12th, 1883. 
(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) , 

5886 < 2 V188L 
I Dept. ) 

2 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(207.) 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, May 27, '80. 
To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : I have the honor to submit the following relating to the proposed expedition 



APPENDIX. 139 

to establish a temporary station at or uear Lady Franklin Bay, as authorized by the 
act approved May 1, 1880 : 

1st Lieut. H. W. Howgate, 20th Infantry, is au acting signal officer and assistant to 
the Chief Signal Officer, and property and disbursing officer of the Signal Service. 
He is the person from whom the use of the ship is to be accepted and to whom it is to 
be returned. 

He has been for several years greatly interested in Arctic explorations, and has 
nrged in and out of Congress the establishment of a colony in the Arctic regions for 
purposes of scientific exploration and observation, and to discover new whaling 
grounds. It has been a distinguished feature of this colony that it was to remain for 
some time permanently established in the Arctic seas, and was to malvc Arctic explora- 
tions, principally overland. The plan has been presented to Congress and failed to 
pass. Captain Howgate has iitted out and given direction to what has been known 
as the "Cruise of the Florence," a small vessel purchased by subscription, whose 
cruise was partly for whaling, to meet expenses, and has written much on Polar colo- 
nization. 

In the present year, following a meteoi'ological congress held at Rome, there w^as a 
ccJnference called the International Polar Conference, held at Hamburg, a principal 
object of this conference being to determine the character of the meteorological and 
other observations to be taken, some of them simultaneously, at a series of stations 
to be located around the northern and southern poles. 

The Chief Signal Officer received a letter in reference to this conference and its ob- 
jects from Mr. Charles Weyprecht, an Austrian explorer, herewith (A), and was per- 
mitted by Secretary of War McCrary to send the reply herewith (B). This letter was 
read at the conference. The conference, very few members of which had any official 
powers, adjourned after recommending certain stations and reports to be had from 
them. 

The present bill was introduced in Congress shortly after, the report and explana- 
tion made concerning, it making special reference to this conference. The act has be- 
come a law. 

These stations were rather for the purpose of meteorological and other scientific 
observation than for exploration. They were temporary and to be maintained for at 
least one year. 

The power of placing a station or stations on the northern seas is useful to the Sig- 
nal Service scientific and meteorological work, because it enables to settle perhaps 
questions not before answerable ; to determine, possibly, the courses and force of 
storms in the far north or at sea, and other points having a direct bearing on agricult- 
ural and commercial interests. 

It is for the bearing of these observations on such interests that the co-operation of 
the Signal Office was asked in the plan, and that so extensive an array of stations, 
many of them stations of observation only, were recommended by the confereuce. 

This act, No. 45, must be construed in view of paragraph 222, Revised Statutes, 
1878. The act is one to establish a temx'orary station, described in the Congressional 
Report. No. 80, H. R., for scientific discoveries, explorations, and observation, similar 
in character to the similar stations stated in the report to have been agreed upon to 
be established either by the governments directly, or by scientific corps under their 
direction, of Germany, Norway, Holland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, and 
several other states. — (See Report.) 

These stations have not, as yet, be en established or officially agreed to. Enough 
has transpired, however, to show that they were proposed, so far as the conference 
stated, for stations of scientific observation, and expected to make simultaneous re- 
ports and observations largely meteorological, magnetic, and co-operative (see report 
on the conference), by their being simultaneous, with the international system of 
simultaneous reports established by the United States. 

In the case of this act, authorizing the establishing for the United States a station, 
there Avas added the purpose of geographical exploration and discovery or develop- 
ment of new' whaling grounds, and an especial location north of the 80° of latitude 
at or near Lady Franklin Bay. It appears from the copies of the act filed that it was 
originallj^ drawn to establish a colony. In the bill as passed the word " colony" is 
everywhere stricken out, and the word " temporary station" or "station" is substi- 
tuted. 

The act is wholly permissory. The President is given free discretion, and can 
adopt to establish "this station any jilan he pleases. He takes upon himself the re- 
sponsibility for whatever plan he formally adopts. 

On April 28th the President approved certain papers relating to the act; (1) a plan 
of operation in some detail; (2) an application for men to be detailed. The act was 
approved May 1, the papers referred to being signed before the act existed complete; 
they are not, it would seem, in execution of it, and cannot be considered as constru- 
ing it. The paper stating a plan is not addressed, and cannot be considered as man- 
datory or authoritative in reference to any action taken under it. The approval of 



140 APPENDIX. 

the act itself by the President does iiot coerce him to follow any ijarticular plan of 
operation other than as to location. The act is indicative of the plan to be pursued, 
only by permitting the acceptance of the use of a, steamship, which use the President 
terminates at his discretion, and for which he may at any time substitute a naval 
vessel. If the statute 222 and the act are construed together he establishes in his 
discretion a temporary station at or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay for the 
purpose of scientific observations, explorations, and to develop or discover new 
whaling grounds. He is bound to see that the lives and health of the men are not 
risked by any unnecessary exposure, and that they are provided with proper means 
for communication, their safety and escape in case of disease or accident. 

The fact that the men willingly volunteer for any hazardous or desperate duty does 
not authorize their superior officers to make it so unnecessarily, or at all relieve them 
from the responsibility every officer has for the life and health of his subordinates. 

The act authorizes the President to establish the station, contemplating presuma- 
bly the necessary expenses of doing so with the best stj'le of equipment and in a 
manner worthy of the nation; the necessary funds, if not to be had under existing ap- 
propriations or an appropriation sought, may, it would seem, be had from the funds 
for incidental expenses of the War and Navy Departments. 

The Chief Signal Officer, after as careful an examination as he has been able to give, 
and (having no practical knowledge of Arctic service) after conference with such ex- 
perts as he has been up to this time able to reach, viz, Mr. Chester (who took part iu 
the Polaris Expedition) and Mr. Sherman (who, a man of good education, has served 
in the northern seas), advises that the enactment, as presumably expressing a public 
wish, be given its full legal effect ; that on this point the President and his Cabinet 
advisors satisfy themselves, by careful inquiry, that any necessary funds and supplies 
requisite, and not to be had from the different Departments of the Government, be 
drawn from the funds for incidental expenses, if not so large in amount as to require 
additional appropriations; that the President and his advisors be satisfied by the 
proper examination of experts of the reasonable hope of success of the expedition, of 
the fitness of the vessel and equipments, of the proper strength and character of the 
party, and of the means for their proper protection. 

The plans of operation suggested by Brvt. Captain Henry W. Howgate, acting 
signal officer, assistant to the Chief Signal Officer, property and disbursing officer of 
the Signal Service, are, on account of the great interest he has had in explorations of 
this nature, his extensive reading on the subject and his knowledge of the Signal 
Service — which must be interested — en titled to favorable consideration. There is the 
further fact that he tenders the use of a vessel. He lacks only personal experience in 
the Arctic regions. He does not propose to accompany the expedition. The views of 
1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, acting signal officer, who is an officer of extensive Arctic re- 
search, skilled in the duties of the Signal Service, used to command, and who proposes 
to accompany the expedition, are entitled to the especial consideration this latter fact 
must assure to them. Lieutenant Greely, acting signal officer, has, by direction of the 
President, been assigned to the command of the expeditionary force now organizing. 
All the measures in reference to executing this act have been marked with haste. 

It has been urged to be necessary that the steamer should sail on an early day or the 
benefits of the expedition be lost for a year. The attempt has been made therefore to 
provisionally execute the act iu view of the seeming power of the President to ter- 
minate its action on any day, and so to assemble men and supplies in readiness to go 
if the law is found on yet farther examination to be one which can be executed. It 
affects both Army and Navy. There has been no official communication between the 
bureau heads of these Departments. There ought to be a wise stud.y of the subject 
and full co-operation of the land and naval forces before the steamer sails. The lives 
of men may be risked in the undertaking, and any want of co-operation may, in an 
emergency, lead to the loss of the whole party. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

. ' ALBERT J. MYEE, 

Brig. GeiiU (Bvt. Ass'g'd), Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 

Official copv from the recoixls of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. 0., Nov. 13th, 1883. 



(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 
5886^ 3 yi881. 

I Dept. ) 
C. 3 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



APPENDIX. 

(208.) 
The Arctic Regions. 



141 



I In this circle are shown the loca- \ 
tions of the international polar 
stations. 




Lady Frauklin Bay. Lat., 81° 40' ; Ion., 64° 30'. 

Interuational polar stations positively promised by the following nations : 

Bussia. — New Siberia Island and moutbof the Lena. 

Austria. — N. point Nova Zembla. 

Holland. — S. point Nova Zembla, or month of the Ob. 

Xorway. — North Cape. . 

Sivedeii, — Spitzbergen. 

Denmarh. — Uppernavik. 

And Point Barrow^, regular U. S. signal station. 

Probable. — Germany, Jan Mayen ; Canada, Melville Island. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer 
(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 

5886^ 5 V188I, 
( Dept. ) 

5 (990., O. C. S. 0. Mis., 1881.) 



Special Orders, 
No. 57. 



(209.) 

Headquarters of the Army, 

Adjutant-Gexeral's Office, 

Washington, March 11, 1881. 
[Extract.] 



2. By direction of the President, 1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, 5th Cavalry, acting sig- 
nal of3ticer, is hereby assigned to the command of the expeditionary force now organ- 
izing under the provisions of the acts of Congress approved May 1, 1880, and March 
3rd, 1881, to establish a station north of the 81st degree of north latitude, at or near 
Lady Franklin Bay, for the purposes of scientific observation, &c., as set forth in 
said acts. 

During his absence on this duty Lieutenant Greely will retain station at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia. 



By command of General Sherman: 

Official. 

Xii-eut. Greely, 

//n-o' Chief Signal Office^-. 



E. C. DRUM, 

Adjutant- General. 

H. C. CORBIN, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 



142 APPENDIX. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 

(Endorsed as follows ;) 
( War > 

5886^ 6 V1881. 
( Dept. ) 

6 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(210.) 
[Hou&e of Representatives. Keport No. 453. 46tli Congress, 2d session.] 

Expedition to the Arctic Seas. 

March 9, 1880.— Committed to the Committee of tlie Whole Hoiise on the state of the Union and or 

dered to be printed. 

Mr. Whitthorne, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following re- 
port to accompany hill H. R. 3534. 

The Committee ou Naval Affairs report back to the House the bill (H. E. 3534) " to 
authorize and equip au expedition to the Arctic Seas," with a recommendation that 
it do pass. • 

In submitting this recommendation the committe reefer to and accept the reasons set 
forth in a former report made by them, to wit, Report No. 69, second session, Forty- 
sixth Congress. 

[Honse Report No. 89, Forty-sixth Congress, second session.] 

Mr. Whitthorne, from the Committee ou Naval Affairs, submitted the foUowiug 
rej)ort (to accompany bill H. E. 3534) : 

The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred House bill No. 1823, "to 
authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic Seas," having had the same under 
consideration, have directed the same to be repoi'ted back to the House with a sub- 
stitute therefor, and thereupon do recommend the adoption and passage of said sub- 
stitute herewith submitted. 

In making this report the committee resiiectfully state and report that the object 
of the bill, as is shown by its terms, is to authorize a temporary station to be selected 
witbin the Arctic Circle, for the purpose of making scientific discoveries, explora- 
tions, and observations, obtaining all possible facts and knowledge in relation to the 
magnetic currents of the earth, the influence of ice-flows therefrom upon the winds and 
seasons and upon the currents of the ocean, as Avell as other matters incidental thereto, 
developing and discovering at the same time other and new whale-fisheries, now so 
material in many respects to this country. It is, again, the object of this bill that this 
expedition, having such scientific observations in vieiv, shall be regularly made for a, se)'ies 
of years, under sucli restrictions of military discipline as icill insure regularity and accuracy, 
and give the fullest possible return for the necessary expenditure ; and, again, in view of the 
fact that either the Governments directly, or scientific corps unde^' their authority, of Germany, 
Holland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, and Bussia, have concurrently agreed to es- 
tablish similar stations, with like object, during the year 1880, it is believed that the interests 
and policy of our people concur in demanding that the United States shonld co-operate in 
the grand efforts to be thus made in the solution of the mysteries and secrets of the North 
Polar Seas, upon which, in the opinion of scientisis, depends so much that affects the health 
and wealth of the human race. 

This subject has for many years, and especially during this century, engrossed a 
very large share of the attention of the scientific world. The enthusiasm of those 
who have ventured so much in a region where naught of individual profit could be 
an inducement, and the sole motive could only be " the good of mankind," is worthy 
of our highest regard and admiration. 

Congress has at different times and in different ways given the sanction and encour- 
agement of the Government of the United States to expeditions and explorations into 
this region, and always, as your committee believes, with the approbation of the people, 
and lately, with singular unanimity, to the expedition fitted out by a distinguished, 
wealthy, and liberal citizen of the United, States, Mr. Bennett, whose vessel, the Jean- 
nette, now under command of Commander De Long, of the United States ISfavy, sail- 



APPENDIX. 143 

ing under the national flag, by authority of Congress, is penetrating this ice-bound 
region by way of Bering's Strait ; and no well-informed citizen but hopes with pride 
that success shall mark the venture, and that in its beneficent results to science and 
humanity the generous liberality of the owner of the Jeannette shall find his deserved 
reward. 

Your committee, aware of the deep interest felt in these explorations, and particu- 
larly that which has been manifested in the plan known to the American public as 
the " Howgate plan," as is manifest in the petitions and memorials from scientific 
and commercial bodies of all parts of the country, sent to this and preceding Con- 
gresses, and desiring that its friends should briefly explain its history, purposes, and 
expected results, sought, by addressing them the following queries, to elicit this in- 
formation and so to present it to the House, and which they here now present. 

On behalf of the committee, it was requested that it should be shown — 

I. Chronologically a brief of the various expeditions to the Polar Seas and under 
what auspices made. 

II. A brief of the alleged scientific results of these expeditions and references. 

III. What are the expected and hoped-for results from the proposed expedition, 
scientific and economic. 

IV. The special reasons, &c., for the plan proposed by the bill H. R. No. 1823. 
To which answer was made as follows : 

I. — Chronological. 

RUSSIA. 

1820. — Two expeditions were sent out by the Russian Government in 1820, com- 
manded by Admiral Von Wrangell and Lieutenant Anjou," to explore the regions north 
of Sibera. 

ENGLAND. 

The following expeditions were sent out by the British Government in the years 
named : 

1818. — Captains Ross and Parry, in 1818, to discover the northwest passage, and. 
Captain Buchan and Lieutenant (afterward Sir John) Franklin, in the same year, 
with a thoroughly equipped expedition, to reach the Pole. 

1819. — Captain Parry, in 1819, was sent to explore the regions north of Hudson's 
Bay. 

1820. — Sir John Franklin sent out on a land expedition in 1820 to explore the north 
coast of America. 

1821. — Captain Parry sent in 1821 to explore the regions north of and around Hud- 
son's Bay. 

1824. — Captain Parry was sent again in 1824. Captain Lyon sent out in 1824, via 
Hudson's Strait. Sir John Franklin made a second land expedition in 1824, via the 
Mackenzie River. 

1825. — Captain Beechey was sent in 1825, via Cape Horn and Bering's Strait. 

1827. — Captain Parry was sent in 1827 to reach the Pole, via Spitzbergen. 

.1833. — Lieutenant Back, in 1833, was sent in command of an overland expedition 
through the Hudson's Bay territory. 

1836. — Captain Back was sent in 1836 to complete the surveys of portions of the 
coast line north of Hudson's Bay. 

1845. — Sir John Franklin was sent out in 1845 to search for the northwest passage. 

1847. — In 1847 the British Government sent out three expeditious in search of Sir 
John Franklin. 

1850. — In 1850 three other search expeditions were sent but by the British Govern- 
ment. 

1852. — In 1 852 Sir Edward Belcher was sent out in command of five vessels to search 
for Sir John Franklin. In 1852 Captain luglefield was also sent out to search for Sir 
John Franklin. 

1875. — In 1875 Captains Nares and Stephenson were sent out to reach the Pole, via 
Smith's Sound. This was one of the best equipped expeditions of modern times. 

GERMANY. 

1869. — In 1869 the German Government sent out an expedition in command of Cap- 
tains Koldewey and Hegemann, toward the North Pole. 



1872. — Austria sent out an expedition in 1872 in command of Lieutenants Weyprecht 
and Payer to reach the Pole via Nova Zembla. 



144 APPENDIX. 

UNITED STATES. 

1871. — The United States seut out Captain Hall, in the Polaris, via Smith's Sound, 
in 1871. 

These comprise the principal governmental Arctic expeditions during the present 
century. 

During the same period a large number of private expeditions have been fitted out 
in this and most of the northern countries of Europe. 

The expeditions of De Haven, Kane, Hayes, and Hall, from the United States, and 
those of Professor Nordeuskjold, from Sweden, received some slight aid from their 
•Groveruments, but their cost has been borne principally by private citizens. 

For detailed accounts, see the published narratives of the several expeditions. For 
brief account of work done before 1857, see a small work by Epes Sargent, called 
"Arctic Adventures." 

See, also, for this, the preliminary chapters of the "Narrative of the Second Arctic 
Expedition made by C. F. Hall, 1864-'69," prepared by Professor Norse, United States 
Navy, under orders of the Secretary of the Navy. 

II. — Some geographical and sdentifie results of past Arctic voyages. 

1. The discovery and survey of the vast territory lying north of the American con- 
tinent between the sixtieth and eighty-third degrees of north latitude, and longitude 
50° to 170° west of Greenwich. 

2. The discovery of Francis Joseph Land and Wraugell's Land, north of Europe 
and Asia, and the survey of the northern coast lines of these continents. 

3. The discovery of the magnetic pole, which has proved so valuable to commerce 
and navigation. 

4. The discovery of new whaling grounds, notably by Captain Hall, in Cumberland 
Gulf and adjacent waters, by which millions of dollars were added to the commerce 
of the United States. 

5. New species of birds, of animals, and of fishes have been discovered, some of 
them of commercial as well as scientific value. 

6. New minerals of value have been found, some of which do not exist elsewhere. 

7. Interesting studies in ethnography and kindred sciences have been made. 

8. Our knowledge of magnetism, electricity, meteorology, and of ocean currents 
has been greatly increased by observations made within the Arctic regions. 

See, also, the narrative of Professor Norse, before referred to. 

III. — Tlie expected and hoped-for results, scieniific, pMlosopliic, and economic. 

The following brief quotations from Professor Henry, the late distinguished head 
of the Smithsonian Institiition and president of the National Academy of Sciences ; 
from Professor Loomis, the distinguished meteorologist of Yale College; from the late 
Professor Maury, formerly at the head of the Naval Observatory of the United States ; 
from Admiral Sherard Osborne, of the British Navy, and from Sir John Barrow, for- 
merly secretary of the British Board of Admiralty, set forth the advantages to be 
derived from Polar exploration in plain terms : 

[Letter of President Josepli Hemy, LL. D.] • 

Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, January 31, 1871. 

Sir : Your letter of the 30th instant, asking my opinion as to the plan of Captain 
Howgate for explorations in the Arctic regions, and its utility in regard to scientific 
and commercial results, has been received, and I have the honor to give you the fol- 
lowing reply : 

From my connection with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy 
of Sciences, I am, of course, interested in every proposition which has for its object 
the extension of scientific knowledge, and, therefore, I am predisposed to advocate 
any rational plan for exploration and continued observations within the Arctic Circle. 

Much labor has been expended on this subject, especially with a view to reach the 
Pole ; yet many problems connected with physical geography and science in general 
remain unsolved. 

1. With regard to a better determination of the figure of the earth, pendulum ex- 
periments are required in the region in question. 

2. The magnetism of the earth requires for its better elucidation a larger number 
and more continued observations than have yet been made. 

3. To complete our knowledge of the tides of the ocean a series of observations 
should be made for at least an entire year. 



APPENDIX. 145 

4. For complefciug our knowledge of the winds of the globe the results of a larger 
series of observations than those we now possess are necessary, and also additional 
observations on temperature. 

5. The whole field of natural history could be enriched by collections in the line of 
botany, mineralogy, geology, &c., and facts of interest obtained with regard to the 
influence of extreme cold on animal and vegetable, life. 

All of the above-mentioned branches of science are indirectly connected with the 
well-being of man, and tend not only to enlarge his sphere of mental pleasures, but 
to promote the application of science to the arts of life. 

As to the special plan of Captain Howgate, that of establishing a colony of ex- 
plorers and observers, to be continued for several years, I think favorably. 

The observations which have previously been made in the Arctic regions have 
usually been of % fragmentary character, and not sufficient in any one case to estab- 
lish the changes of the observed phenomena during an entire year, whereas to obtain 
even an approximation to the general law of changes a number of years are required. 

It may be proper to state, in behalf of the National Academy of Sciences, that should 
Congress make the necessary appropriation for this enterprise, the Academy will 
cheerfully give a series of directions as to the details of the investigations to be made 
and the best methods to be employed. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOSEPH HENRY, 
Secretary Smithsonian Institution, President National Academy of Sciences. 

[From Professor Loomis, of Tale College.] 
# * # * • * -" # 

There is scarcely a problem relating to the physics of the globe which can be fully 
understood without a knowledge of the phenomena within the Polar regions. What- 
ever phenomena we may wish to investigate, it is of special importance to determine 
its maximum and minimum values, and in nearly all questions of terrestrial physics 
one or other of these values is found in the neighborhood of the Pole. If, for ex- 
ample, we wish to determine the distribution of temperature upon the surface of the 
globe, it is specially important to determine the extremes of temperature, one of 
which is to be found near the Equator and the other near the Poles. If we wish to 
investigate the system of circulation of the winds our investigation would be sadly 
deficient without a knowledge of the phenomena in the Polar regions. 

If we wish to study the fluctuations in the pressure of the atmosphere, whether pe- 
riodical or accidental, we cannot be sure that we understand the phenomena in the 
middle latitudes unless we know what takes place in the Polar regions. If we wish 
to investigate the currents of the ocean we find indications of currents coming from 
the Polar regions, and it is important to be able to trace these currents to their source. 
If we wish to investigate the laws of the tides we need observations from every 
ocean ; and observations in the Arctic regions have a special value on account of their 
distance from the place where the daily tidal wave takes its origin. If we wish to 
study the phenomena of atmospheric electricity and of auroral exhibitions no part 
of the world is more important than the Polar regions. If we wish to study the phe- 
nomena of terrestrial magnetism observations in the Polar regions have a special value, 
since it is here the dipping needle assumes a vertical position and t he intensity of the 
earth's magnetism is the greatest. If we wish to determine the dimensions and figures 
of the earth we require to know the length of a degree of latitude where it is greatest 
and also where it is least. If we wish to determine how the force of gravity varies in 
different parts of the world we require observations of the second's pendulum both 
where it is greatest and where it is least. In short, there is no problem connected with 
the physics of the globe which does not demand observations from the Polar regions, 
and generally the Poles and the Eqiiator are moi-e important as stations of observation 
than any other portions of the earth's surface. If the information which has been ac- 
quired upon the various subjects in the numerous Polar expeditions of the last half 
century were annihilated it would leave an immense chasm which would greatly im- 
pair the value of the researches which have been made in other parts of the world. 

The subjects to which I have here referred are scientific rather than commercial; 
but many of them have an important bearing upon questions which affect the com- 
merce of the globe. In the attempts which are now being made by the joint efforts of 
the principal nations of the globe to determine the laws of storms, if we could have 
daily observations from a group of stations within the Arctic Circle it is believed that 
they would jirove of the highest value in enabling us to explain the phenomena of the 
middle Jatitudes. Every winter upon the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains we 
find an intensely cold wave moving down from the northward and spreading over a 
large portion of the Uuited States. How can we fully understand the cause of the 
great changes of temperature which so frequently occur during the winter months 
unless we know where this cold air comes from '? And how can this be determined 
without fixed stations of observation extending northward over the Polar regions? 

S. Ex. 100— AP 10 



146 APPENDIX. 

The vast extension of the commerce of the workl in recent times and its increased 
security aie due in no small degree to more accurate information respecting the physics 
of the globe, including such subjects as the mean direction and force of the prevail- 
ing winds; the laws of storms; the use of the barometer in giving warning of ap- 
proaching violent winds; the surest mode of escaping the violence of a storm when 
overtaken by a gale ; the most advantageous route from one part to another ; the di- 
rection and velocity of the current in every ocean ; the variation of the magnetic 
needle in all latitudes, and its changes from year to year ; together with many other 
problems ; and most of these investigations have been greatly facilitated by observa- 
tions which have been made within the Arctic regions. I do not regard it as any 
exaggeration to claim that the benefits which have resulted both directly and indi- 
rectly to the commerce of the world in consequence of Polar expeditions are more 
than equal to all the money which has been expended on these enterprises. 

[From Prof. M. F. Maury.] 

* * * * # * * . 

Within this Polar area the tides have their cradle and whales their nursery. There 
the winds complete their circuit and the currents of the sea their round in the won- 
derful system of oceanic circulation ; there the aurora is lighted up and the trembling 
needle brought to rest; and there, too, in the mazes of that mystic circle terrestrial 
forces of occult power and of vast influence upon the well-being of man are contin- 
ually at work. It is a circle of mysteries, and the desire to enter it, to explore the 
untrodden wastes and secret chambers, and to study its physical aspects has grown 
to a longing. 



[From Admiral Osborne.] 

Of the advantages to be derived from an exploration of the Polar area : In the iirst 
place there is an unknown area of 1,131,000 square miles of the globe's surface a sheer 
blank. Within that area we are profoundly ignorant whether there be lands or waters : 
whether, as some say, it is a silent frozen solitude or an open sea teeming with animal 
•life. So far as it has yet been explored in that direction the land has been found 
capable of supporting not only animal but human life. 

* ,# » * * * * 

To botanists, therefore, as well as geographers, there is everything to be discovered 
within the Polar area, and not only the botany of the land but that of the sea and of 

the fresh water lakes and rivers flowing from the glaciers of that ice-bound region. 

jf # * # -jf ^ ^ 

[From Sir John Barrow.] 

But it may be asked citi hono are these northern voyages undertaken ? If they were 
merely to be prosecuted for the sake of making a passage from England to China, and 
for no other purpose, their utility might fairly be questioned. But when the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge is the ground-work of all the instruction under which they are 
sent forth ; when the commanding officer is directed to cause constant observations 
to be made for the advancement of every branch for science — astronomy, navigation, 
hydrography, meteorology, including electricity and magnetism, and to make col- 
lections of subjects of natural history; in short, to lose no opportunity of acquiring 
new and important information and dis-^overy ; and when it is considered that these 
voyages give employment to officers and men in time of peace and produce officers and 
men not to be surpassed, perhaps not equaled, in any other branch of the service, the 
question cui bono is readily answered in the words of the minister of Queen Elizabeth, 
"Knowledge is power." 

Professor Newton, of Cambridge, has drawn attention to some interesting questions 
relating to the migration of birds toward the unknown area. He says, " The shores 
of the iiritish Islands, and of many other countries in the northern hemisphere, are 
annually, for a longer or shorter period, frequtnte'l by a countless multitude of birds, 
which there is every reason lo believe resort in summer to very high northern latitudes 
for purposes the most important, and since they conxiuue the practice year after year 
they must find the migration conducive to their advantage. There' must be some 
water that is not always frozen ; secondly, there must be some land on which they 
may set their feet ; and, thirdly, there must be plenty of food, supplied either by the 
water or by land, or by both, for their nourishment and that of their progeny. 

"People who have been in Iceland' and Greenland have noted the appearance of 



^APPENDIX. 147 

these birds iu those countries, but in neither of them do they stay longer than with 
us ; and as we know that it takes no other direction, it must move farther north. 
We may, therefore, fairly infer that the lands visited by these birds iu the middle of 
summer are less sterile than Iceland and Greenland, or they would hardly pass over 
those countries. The inference necessarily is that beyond the tracts already explored 
there is a region which enjoys in summer a climate more genial than they possess." 

* * * Sf » » * 

If the solution of the greatest geographical problem that remains to be solved, and 
the attainment of numerous important scientific results, are not considei'ed worth the 
expenditure of the trifling sum required, an expenditure which will be richly and 
abundantly repaid, the characterof the English speaking people must have strangely 
altered with the present generation. 

No such extent of unknown area as that which surrounds the North Pole ever failed 
to yield results of practical as well as of purely scientific value; and it may be safely 
urgSid that, as the area certainly exists, its examination cannot fail to add lai-gely to 
the sum of hiimau knowledge. 

:3* -Jf ^ ^ :?t * -¥ 

Professor MaOry, the distinguished scientist, says, " Within this Polar area the ivliales 
have their nursery." Professor Agassiz, another distinguished scientist, of whom New 
England is justly proud, writingto the president of the American Geographical Society 
in favor of a Polar expedition then before the public, says, " I consider it as highly 
important, not only in a scientific point of view, hnt j^a^ ticnlarljj so for the interests of 
the whale fshei-ies. The discovery of a passage into the open water around the Pole which 
would render whale fishing possible would he oneof the most important results for the improve- 
ment of whale fishing." 

"The Navy," said Admiral Sherard Osborne, in 1865, "needs some action to wake 
it up from the sloth of routine and save it from the canker of prolonged peace. It 
cries not for mere war to gratify its desire for honorable employment or fame. There 
are other achievements as glorious as a victorious battle ; and a wise ruler and a wise 
people will be careful to satisfy a craving which is the life-blood of a profession." 

The following figures, taken from Mr. Starbuck's exhaustive history of the whale 
fisheries of the United States, show the startling decadence of this important branch 
of national industry and the necessity of prompt action to preven its total extinc- 
tion : 

In 1846 there belonged to the various ports of the United States 678 ships and barks, 
35 brigs, and 22 schooners, with an aggregate capacity of 233,189 tons. 

On the 1st of January, 1877, the entire fleet was reduced to 112 ships and barks and 
51 brigs and schooners, having a tot,al capacity of 37,828 tons. 

The value of bone and oil brought into the United States in 1854 amounted to 
^10,802,594.20, and in 1876 to only $2,639,463.31. 

IV. 

The plan of Arctic explorations and scientific research provided for in the bill H. E. 
1823 is one to establish a station of hardy, resolute, and intelligent men at some favor- 
able point on or near the borders of the Polar Sea, and providing it with all modern 
appliances for overcoming the physical obstacles iu the pathway to the Pole, and for 
resisting the effects of hunger, of cold, and of sickness, to deprive it of the means of 
retreat, except at stated periods of time. The location selected as the site of the pro- 
posed colony is on the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, near the seam of coal found by 
the Discovery, of the English expedition of 1875. 

The results of the last Euglish expedition and modern improvements in means 
of locomotion and communication render it impossible to locate farther north than in 
the earlier days of Arctic exploration, when sailing-vessels were used. 

The expedition of Captain Hall, in the Polaris, in 1871, and of Captain Nares, in 
the Alert and Discovery, in 1875, have show n that by the use of steam it is a compara- 
tively easy matter to reach the entrance to Eobeson's Channel, in latitude 81° north, 
and that the serious diiflculries to be overcome lie beyond that point. Parties from 
these two expeditions have made fair surveys 140 miles north of this point, leaving 
about 400 miles ot unexplored regions between it and the goal of modern geographers — 
the Pole. 

When Captain Hall reached the upper extremity of Eobeson's Channel the lookout 
of the Polaris reported open water in sight and just beyond the pack which surrounded 
the vessel and impeded further progress. This open water was afterward seen from 
The cape at the northern opening of Newman's Bay, and it wasthe opinion of the crew 
of that ill-fated vessel that if she had been but the fraction of an hour earlier in reach- 
ing the chaunel, they could have steamed unobstructed to the Pole itself, or to the 
shores of such lands, if any exist, as may bound the so-called open Polar Sea. We 
know that thev- did not succeed but were forced to winter almost within sight of 



148 APPENDIX. 

this sea, and. subsequently, disheartened by the loss of their gallant commander, 
abaudoned the enterprise. 

Where this open water was found Cax)tain Nares, in 1875 and 1876, found solid, im- 
peuetrable ice, through which no vessel could force its way, and over which it was 
equally impossible for sled parties to work. 

These facts appear to show that within the Arctic Circle the seasons vary as mark- 
edly as in more temperate southern latitudes, and that the icy barriers to the Pole are 
sometimes broken up by favoring winds and temperature. To get farther north, or 
to reach the Pole, prompt advantage must be takeu of such favoriug circumstances, 
and to do this with the greatest certainty aud with the least expenditure of time, 
money, aud human life, it is essential that the exploring party be on the ground at 
the very time the ice gives way and opens the gatewtiy to the long-sought prize, fully 
prepared to improve every opportunity that otters. 

The permanent station should be furaished with provisions aud other necessary 
supplies for three years, and should consist of at least fifty selected men, mustered 
into the service of the United States, three commissioned officers, and two surgeons, all 
to be selected with a view to their especial fitness for the work — young, able-bodied, 
resolute men, who can be depended upon to carry out instructions ^o the extreme 
limit of hitman endurance. An astronomer and two or more naturalists, to be selected 
by the National Academy of Sciences, aud to work under iustrnctious from that body, 
but subject to sitch general sit ervision and directions from the head of the expedi- 
tion, as is customary at all points in charge of an officer of the United States, should 
accompany the expedition. One or more members of the regular force should be com- 
petent to make meteorological observations, and to communicate by telegraph and 
signals whenever such communications become necessary. An annual visit should be 
made to the station to carry fresh food and supplies ; to keep the members informed 
of events occttring in the outside world, aud bear them news aud letters from anxious 
relatives ; to bring back news of jjrogress made and of a private character to friends ; 
also, if necessary, to bring back invalided members of the expedition and carry out 
fresh observers to take their places. lu this way the morale of the station would be 
maintained and the physique of its members kept constantly at the maximum, and 
the knowledge that this annual visit would be made would do much to alleviate 
the discomforts of the long Arctic night and the feeling of isolation so graphically 
described by Arctic explorers. 

Captain Hall spent eight years among the Esquimaux, and each year fouud him- 
self better fitted to withstand the severity of the Arctic Circle, and the station would, 
it is believed, in like nianuer become acclimated, aud eventually succeed in accom- 
plishing the long-sought end. 

With a few strong, substantial buildings, such as can be easily carried on ship- 
board, the members of the station could be made as comfortable and as safe from at- 
mospheric dangers as are the men of the Signal Service stationed on the summits of 
Pike's Peak aiiid Mount Washington, or the employes of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
stationed at Fort York, or elsewhere where a temperature of — 60° is not uncommon. 

A good supply of medicines, a skillful surgeon, aud such fresh provisions as could 
be found by hunting parties would enable them to keep ott' scurvy and maintain as 
good a sanitary condition as the inhabitants of Godhaven, in Greenland. Game was 
found in fair quantities by the Polaris jjarty on the Greenland coast, and bj' those 
from the Alert and Discovery on the mainlaud to the west, especially in the vicinity 
of the last-named vessel, where fifty-four musk oxen were killed during the season, 
with quantities of other and smaller game. The coal found by the Discovery's party 
would render the question of fuel a light one, and thus remove one of the greatest 
difficulties hitherto encountered by Arctic voyagers. 

There seems to be little doubt that Lady Franklin Bay can be annually reached 
by a steam-vessel, as Captain Hall went as high as Cape Union, between latitude 
82° and 83°, with the Polaris, ami Captain Naivs tjtill higher with the Alert. It 
is possible that the last-named point may be reached with the vessel, in which case 
coal aud provisions could be deposited there to form a secondary base of operations 
for the exploring party. If this latter can be done the road to the Pole will be 
shortened by about ninety miles in distance and three weeks or more in time — two 
very important items. It should be clearly understood that the only use to be made 
of the vessel which it is hoped to obtain fiom the Government is in the transportion 
of the men and supplies to the location of the station. When this is done the vessel 
will return to the United States and await further instructions. To the expedition- 
ary corps brought from the United States should be added a number of Esquimaux 
families to serve as hunters, guides, &c., and also an ample number of Esquimaux 
dogs, so indispensable for sledging, and so useful as food when tbeir capacity for work 
is gone. 

The station should be kept under the strictest discipline, and to this end should be 
formally enrolled in the military service, save perhaps the strictly scientific members. 
By discipline only can such control be exercised as will be indispensable to the sue- 



APPENDIX. 149 

cessful prosecution of the work. One cannot read witbonjb pain the account of the 
Polaris expedition, where the bonds of discipline, only too loose before Hall's untimely 
death, were entirely relaxed after it. The first in command of the new expedition 
should be a man able not only to gauge men, but to control them, and his second 
should be like unto him. Enthusiasm and energy are desirable, but coolness of tem- 
per, tirmness of rnle, persistency of purpose, and a well-balanced mind, fertile in re- 
sources and expedients, are indispensable to success. 

The outtit of the expedition should include, among other things an ample supply 
of copper telegraph wire to connect the station at Lady Franklin ]5ay with the sub. 
• sidiary depot at Cape Union, and thence northward as far as practicable. Copper 
Avire is strong, light, flexible, and a good conductor, and can be worked while lying 
upon the dry suoav or ice without support. The necessary ])attery material and in- 
strumeuts should be taken to equip the line, and the battery left permanently at the 
bay station, where, fuel being abundant, it could be kept from freezing. A special 
form of instrument has been devised for the ex])editiou, by which the use of battery 
is dispensed with entirely, and it is possible that the recently discovered telephone 
may be applied to advantage. It should certainly form a part of the outtit. Much 
attention has been given to the possible use of balloons as a means of observation, 
and, perhaps, of exploration. Here, as elsewhere, the coal mine plays an important 
part, as by its aid the necessary supply of gas can be readily and quickly procured. 

A few sets of signal equipments, such as are used in the Army Signal Service, would 
also form an important part of the outfit, and all of the men should be instructed in 
their use and in the signal code. Thus proA'ided with means of communication, par- 
ties could move forward with confidence, as they would be able, when necessary, to 
call upon their comrades who remained behind for advice or assistance. The exist- 
ence of coal at the Discovery's winter quarters determines the location of the station 
as a means of Polar exploration ; and the Nares expedition would ]xnYe been a suc- 
cess if it had done nothing more than this. The failure of his admirably equipped 
expedition to reach the Pole is, in a great measure, attributable to the abnormally 
cold se.n-son and the exceptional character of the winds, which had resulted in the 
formation of ice ridges running across the line of march, thus making progress diffi- 
cult, slow, and dangerous. It is reasonable to suppose, from past meteorological re- 
cords, that these unusual conditions will not exist during the present season, and, 
indeed, may not occur again for several years. Instead of discouraging further effort, 
the result of Nares' expedition, from the causes named, should stimulate fresh en- 
deavors and hold out a fair prospect of success. In any event the little station on 
Lady Franklin Bay during their three years' residence, besides having the opportu- 
nity of selecting an open season and becoming thoroughly hardened and acclimated, 
would have their work narrowed down to a common focus — the pathway due north. 

The plan proposes to take only such persons already in the public service for whose 
pay and subsistence the Government now provides ; the vessel is no charge, and only 
such small sum as may be necessary to prejpare it for this special service is sought 
from the Government. 

While your committee believe that the interests of geographical and scientific dis- 
covery as set forth by Professors Henry, Loomis, and others, in connection with the 
proposed Arctic station, are of themselves of sufficient magnitude to warrant favor- 
able legislation, they do not exclude the additional practical consideration of the 
political and commercial results that are probable to flow from the discovery of new 
fields for the whale fisheries. That large section of country from which springs the 
American sailor, whose education and wealth is largely derived from these fields, is 
entitled, as a matter of justice, to have their interest cared for in this direction. 
This home of sailors becomes not only an element of commercial wealth but a resource 
of national defense, which shoiild not be lost sight of by the American statesmen. 
It is for these considerations your committee have been induced to report favorably 
upon the plan proposed in H. E. No. 1823. 



LSubstitute for H. R. No. 1823.] 

A BILL to authorize and equip an expedition to the Artie Seas. 

Be it enacted hij the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, 
authorized to establish a temporary station at some point north of the eighty-first 
degree of north latitude, on or near the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, for purposes of 
scientific observation and exploration, and to develop or discover new whaling-grounds ; 
to detal such officers or other persons of the public service to take part in the same as 
may be necessary, and who are willing to enlist for such purpose, not exceeding fifty 



150 APPENDIX. 

in umuber, and to use any public vessel or vessels that may be suitable for the purpose 
of transporting the members of said station and their necessay supplies and for su ch 
other duty in connection with said station as may be required from time to time: Pro- 
vided, That the President of the United States is authorized to accept from H. W. How- 
gates, and ht out for the purposes of this expedition, the steamship Gulnare, which ves- 
sel shall be returned to its owner when the objects of the expedition shall have been 
accomplished, or when, in the opinion of the President, its services are no longer re- 
quired: Provided further, That the United States shall not be liable to any claim for 
compensation in case of loss, damage, or deterioration of said vessel from any cause, 
or in any manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand for the use or risk of said 
vessel. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 13, '83. 
(Endorsed as follows:) 
C War ) 
5886^ 7 V1881. - 

I Dept. S 
7 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(212.) 



Lieut. Greely, assigned to command of expeditionary force by S. O., No. 113, Par. 
1, War Dept., A. G. O., May 21, 1880. • 

First Lieut. G. C. Doane, 2d Cav., detailed for duty by S. O. 125, Par. 11, War 
Dept., A. G. O., June 7, 1880. 

Second Lieut. W. H. Low, jr., 20th Inf., detailed by S. O. No. 125, Par. 10, War Dept., 
A. G. O., June 7, 1880. 

By S. O. 91, Ex. 3, War Dept., O. C. S. O., the following men were ordered to report 
to Lt. Greely for duty wath the expedition. 

Sergt. W. S. Jewell, ^ 

'' a ?sSan, Signal Corps. 

" O. Aldrich, J 
Sergt. F. E. Sewer, Sergt. V. Stewart, ^ 

'« D. L. Brainard, Corpl. D. C. Starr, 
Pvt. J. Fredericks, Pvt. G. B. Eichardson, )>2d Cavalry. 
" F. Stoezel '' N. Salor, | 

" W.H.Johnson," J. Eyan, J 

Pvt. F. Long, Co. " F," 9th. Infantry. 

(Note. — One other private of 2d Cavalry did not report to Lt. Greely, but reported 
to Chief Signal Officer.) 

Three other men, were authorized to be enlisted. 

Total commissioned officers 3 

Contract surgeon 1 

Signal sergeants 4 

Enlisted men 2d Cavalry 1 11 

Do. do. 9th Infantry 1 

Three men, special enlistments 3 

23 

The two vacancies were men of 2d Cavalry who at first volunteered but subse- 
quently were discharged. 

Official copy from the records of the Signa Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., November 12, 1883. 
(Endorsed as follows:) 
( War ) 
5886 < 8 Sl881. 
( Dept. ) 

8 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) \ 



APPENDIX. 151 

(212.) 

One year's (or more) of medical supplies were furnished the expedition from the 
Medical Department U. S. Army souie time in May, 1880. List and dates can be ob- 
tained from the Surgeon-General's Office if needed. 

(S'g'd) A. W. GREELY, 

1st Lt. 5 Cav., A. S. O., 4~ Ass't. 
O. C. S. O., M'ch28, '81. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
O.C. S. 0., Xov. 12, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 
C War ) 

5886^ 9 ^1881. 
( Dept. ) 
9 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 18«1.) 



(213.) 
AN" ACT to authorize and eqiiip an expedition to the Arctic Seas. 

Be it enacted iy the Senate and Souse of Hepresentatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled,' That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, 
authorized to establish a temporary station at some point north of the eighty-first 
degree of north latitude, on or near the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, for the purposes 
of scientific observation and exploration, and to develop or discover new whaling- 
grounds; to detail siich officers or other persons of the public service to take part in 
the same as may be necessary, and who are willing to enlist for such purpose, not ex- 
ceeding fifty in number, and to use any public vessel or vessels that may be suitable 
for the purpose of transporting the members of said station and their necessary sup- 
plies, and for such other duty in connection with said station as may be required from 
time to time : Provided, That the President of the United States is authorized to ac- 
cept from H. W. Howgate, and fit out for the purposes of this expedition, the steam- 
ship Gulnare, which vessel shall be returned to its owner when the objects of the 
expedition shall have been accomplished, or when, in the opinion of the President 
its services are no longer required: Provided further, That the United States shall not 
be liable to any claim for compensation in case of loss, damage, or deterioration of 
said vessel from any cause, or in any manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand 
for the use or risk of said vessel. 

Approved, May 1, 1880. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 13, '83. 
(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 
5886 < 4 >1881. 
( Dept. ) 
4 (990, 0. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(214.) 



Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, May 27, 1880. 
Proceedings of a board which convened at Washington, D. C, May 27, 1880, by 
authority of instructions No. 33, current series from this office. 
Present : All the members. 

The board, in compliance with its instructions, proceeded to the consideration of a 
^'Memorandum of plan of Arctic work," signed H. W. Howgate, &c. 

1. With respect to the provisions and fuel for the steame Gulnare, and the advisa- 



152 APPENDIX. 

bility of having a surgeon for its return trip, the board is of the opinion that these 
matters should be left to the discretion of the Navy Department. 

2. Mr. H. C. Chester, a member of the board, "who accompanied the Polaris Expe- 
dition, and who is now superintending the fitting out of the Gulnare, states that it i& 
the best adapted for the purposes designed ot any vessel that has entered the Arctic 
Seas. 

3. The permanent party to remain at the station near Lady Franklin Bay, to be 
composed of three commissioned officers and twenty-five men, apjjears sufficiently 
large. These will be available for scientific work : Three officers, one surgeon, one 
astronomer, one photographer, and three sergeants of the Signal Corps. A portion of 
the scientific work to be performed has already been provided for by a previous 
board. 

4. It is understood by the board that the discovery and development of new whal- 
ing grounds will be incidental to the duties of exploration. 

5. There is little reason to anticipate any danger to the permanent station. It is 
to be provisioned for two years or more. The Polaris left abundant stores on the 
opposite side of the channel, distant from Lady Franklin Bay some thirty or thirty- 
five miles; also the English exiiedition, under Nares, left at Cape Hawk "a large 
quantity of biscuit." 

6. The providing for the safety of sledge and traveling parties will, of necessity, 
have to be left to the discretion of the officer commanding the expedition. Tents are 
the only shelter for such parties that can well be transported, but such parties will 
build igioes, or snoAv-honses, when the materials are at hand. 

7. The means of transportation proposed — two whale-boats, one steam-yawl, six 
dog-sledges, and thirty dogs — are considered ample. 

8. The detailing of selected enlisted men for the body of the expedition promises 
many advantages. Of the men already selected two have been seamen, four are 
accustomed to the use of the oar, one is a fair carpenter, and two are rough car- 
penters. 

9. The members of the board, having had Arctic experience in the latitude of Lady 
Franklin Bay, consider the quarters provided sufficient incapacity and in comfort for 
the party proposed. 

10. The clothing suggested appears to be suiificient in quantity and adapted to the 
climate. 

11. The arrangements for heating and cooking appear adequate. 

An abundant supply of oil for lighting for two years has been provided. 
The surgeon of the expedition states that his requisition for medical stores will be 
sufficient for any anticipated emergency. 

For scientific investigation more spare instruments should, if practicable, be pro ^ 

vided. 

QUARTERS. 

I 

A frame house, 21 by 6-5, inside size, with double walls 18 inches apart, is ready for 
shipment, and will accomodate the whole party comfortably. This house is built after 
the model of those used in the Hudson Bay territory by the company, and is, there- 
fore, assumed to be suitable, both as to size, style, and comfort. ' -j;l|IH9 

For moving parties four wall tents, with flies, and twelve A tents complete, have 
been provided, and will be sufficient. 

CLOTHING. 

Boots, stockings, mittens, sheepskins for clothing, and sleeping bags in sufficient 
quantity for a three j^ears' supply is on hand ready for shii)ment. There is still needed 
a supply of overcoats, blankets, and drawers, which can be supplied by the Quarter- 
master's Department within ten days from date of requisition. 

Twenty suits of seal or deer skin will be obtained at Rigolette, on the coast of Lab- 
rador, in accordance with previous arrangements. If from any cause the clothing i& 
not ready at that point it can be obtained at Disco, and is not absolutely essential, 
although it should be procured if practicable. 

MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. 

Two (2) whale boats (to be got on the NE. coast). 
One (1) steam yawl (now ready). 

Four (4) dog sledges (now ready at Rigolette, Labrador). 

Thirty (30) dogs (expected to be ready at Rigolette, Labrador ; if not ready, can be 
got on the Greenlandcoast, at Proven or Upernavik). 



APPENDIX. 153 



Two years' supply, as per list, already iu hands of the Secretary of War, andwhich^ 
having been prepared with the assistance of Captain Wm. Kennedy, Dr. John Rae^ 
and other Arctic explorers, is believed to be complete. 

The penimican, which is the only item not procurable from the Commissary Depart- 
ment, is now in Washington ready for shipment. 

Requisitions for all the other provisions have already been submitted to the Secretary 
of War for approval. 

FUEL AND HEATING. 

Coal to be used as fuel, and the supply to be obtained on the spot from the vein dis- 
covered by the English expedition, necessary tools for getting out the coal have been 
provided, imder the advice of the manager of some Pennsylvania coal mines. The 
vein of coal must be critically examined before the vessel leaves the party, in order 
that a proper supplj^ may be left from the ship's stores if that on shore is impracti- 
cable. 

Four stoves, two cooking and two heating, have been secured, and, with all their 
necessary furniture, are packed ready for shipment. 



A large supply of lamps and lanterns of various sizes and kinds have been secured, 
with sufficient carbon oil to serve for one full year. 

MEDICINES. 

A full list of medicines, with surgical and medical apparatus, has been prepared by 
the surgeon, and is ready to submit for the approval of the Secretary of War. 

READING MATTER. 

This has been contributed in abundance, and is ready for shipment. 

INSTRUMENTS, &C. 

Surveying apparatus and marine chronometers on hand. Other apparatus can be 
ready within ten days. 

ORDNANCE STORES. 

Six (6) Springfield rifles, 
Six (6) shot-guns, 
Six (6) revolvers. 

With necessary ammunition, and 1,000 pounds blasting powder have been secured 
and are ready for shipment. 

MISCELLANEOUS APPARATUS. 

Includes signaling outfit complete for four stations, including candle-bombs, helio 
graphs, &c., &c. 

Eight (8) telephones. 

Four (4) call-bells. 

Ten (10) miles No. 15 wire plain. 

Four (4) sets telegraph instruments. 

Thirty (30) cells battery, Eagle's. 

Five hundred pounds blue-stone and such other small items as are needed to put 
up two or more telegraph offices. 

Vessel to leave Washington not later than June Ist, and to proceed under sail to- 
St. John's, N. F., where she will stop for coal, ice pilot, and any other items of supplies 
that may be needed. 

From St. John's she will go to Rigolette, where the sledges, dogs, and the twenty 
suits of clothing will be taken on board. It is probable that two half-breed hunters will 
be ready here to join the party, as partial arrangements for their services were made 
last year. 



154 APPENDIX. 

From Rigolette the vessel will proceed to Disco, using steam only when necessary. 

At Disco the coal bunkers will be retillecl, either from the Danish stores or from the 
supply left by the Polaris, if that has not been consumed. The vessel should leave 
Disco -with her coal bunkers filled, and as much more coal stowed on board as can be 
provided for. 

From Disco to Lady Franklin Bay the only stops other than those caused by ice or 
other causes incident to navigation will be at the several Danish settlements of Proven, 
Upernavik, and Tessieusak for dogs and dog footl, if these have not previously been 
secured. Arriving at Lady Franklin Bay the permanent party will be landed and 
the cargo discharged with as little delay as practicable, as near the mouth of Water- 
course Creek and the coal vein as it is practicable for the vessel to get. 

As before stated, the qualit,y and accessibility of the coal vein will be examined, 
and, if found satisfactory, it will not be necessary to leave anj' of the vessel's coal 
otherwise a year's supply — say 60 tons — will be left. 

The Gulnare should not leave the station at Lady Franklin Bay until at least one 
year's supply of fuel has been obtained from the coal mine in that vicinity, or if this 
cannot be obtained, at least sixty (60) tons should be left from the ship's supply. 

In any event the Gulnare should not be permitted to proceed on its return trip until 
the officers of the ship and of the party shall have certified in writing as to the suita- 
bility and fitness of the supplies and the apparent safety of the station, a copy of which 
certificate shall be brought back in the vessel. 

It is also thought that some point should be selected during the ship's journey; 
northward, where supplies should be left in 1882, if a relief ship could not by that 
year reach Lady Franklin Bay. 

The board is of the opinion that there should not be an increase in the arms now 
provided. 

I fall the arrangements of the plan proposed by Lieutenant Howgate be faithfully 
■carried out it would appear that proper precautious and safeguards have been pro- 
vided to secure the safety of the Arctic expedition, and to promise reasonable success 
in the attainment of the objects for which the expedition was organized. 

Special suggestions in writing by Mr. Bryan, of this board, and by Sergt. 0. T. 
Sherman, of the Signal Corps, marked, respectively, C and D, accompany these pro- 
ceedings. 

J. P. STORY.^ 
A. W. GEEELY. 
E. W. D. BEYAN. 
H. C. CHESTER. 
OCTAVE PAVY. 

Official copv from the records of tne Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 



O. C. S. 0., Nov. 13, 1883. 
(Indorsed as follows :") 
War } 

10 V1881. 
Dep't. ) 
10 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881). 



Chief Signal Officer. 



(215.) 



One year's (or more) of medical supplies were furnished the expedition from the 
Medical Department, U. S. Army, some time in May, 1880. List and date can be ob- 
tained from the Surgeon-General's Office if needed. 

A. W. GEEELY, 
1 X'* 5 Cav. A. S. O. Asst. 
O. C. S. O., M'ch 13, 1881. 

Official copy from the record of the Signal Office. 

W. B HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 13, 1883. 

(Indorsed as follows ; 
War " 

5886.^ 11 V1881. 



I War 
\\ 11 
( Dep't. 



11 (990, 0. C. S. 0. Mis., 1881). 



APPENDIX. 



155 



(216.) 



Washington, D. C, March 27th, 1880. 
Commissary-General U. S. Armt, 

Washingion, D. C. : 

Sir: I have the honor to request to be furnished at the earliest practicable date 
with the articles named in the following list : 

Three hundred and fifty (350) lbs Dried apples. 

Ten (10) bushels . f Beans. 

Two hundred (200) lbs Cheese. 

Seventy-five (75) bags Table salt. 

Two (2) barrels Mackerel (No. 1 Bay). 

Seventy-five (75) lbs Corn starch. 

Seventy-five (75) lbs Farina. 

Seven hundred (700 ) boxes Sardines. 

One thousand (1,000) lbs Sugar (granulated). 

Two hundred and fifty (250) lbs Tea (Oolong or Congo). 

Forty-five (45) barrels Mess pork.. 

Ten (10) lbs Black pepper. 

Five (5) lbs Allspice. 

Three (3) lbs Cloves. 

Seven hundred (700) lbs Ham (sugar cured). 

Thirty (30) barrels Flour. 

Five (5) barrels Corn meal. 

One thousand four hundred (1,400) lbs Eice. 

Seven hundred (700) lbs Butter. 

One thousand four hundred (1,400) lbs Coifee (roasted Maracaibo). 

Forty-eight (48) cans, 3 lbs Preserved peaches. 

Forty-eight (48) 2-lb. cans " peas. 

Forty-eight (48) " " quinces. 

Forty-eight (48) " " currants. 

Forty-eight (48) " " pears. 

One hundred and sixty (160) 2-lbs cans " pie fruit. 

One hundred and twenty (120) " " corn. 

One hundred and twenty (120) " ..' " Lima beans. 

Eighty (80) 3-lb. cans " tomatoes. 

Eighty (80) 2-lb. cans " beets. 

Eighty (80) " " carrots. 

Eighty (80) 2^-lb. cans " salmon. 

Forty-eight (48) 2-lb. cans " oysters. 

Seventeen (17) barrels Corned beef. 

Forty-eight (48) 2-lb. cans Preserved lobsters. 

One hundred and twenty (120) cans Condensed eggs. 

Four (4) lbs Extract of tea. 

One hundred and twenty (120) cans Soups (assorted). 

It is requested that I be notified when these articles are ready for delivery. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. W. HOWGATE, 
1st Lieut. 20th Ivfantry, Acting Signal Officer. 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, May 12, 1880. 
Respectfully forwarded. It is recommended that these supplies be furnished to en- 
able timely preparation to be made for the expedition to establish a station in the 
Arctic regions. 

ALBERT J. MYERS, 
Brig. GenH (Bvt. Assg'd), Chief Signal Office cf the Army. 
Approved : 

ALEX. RAMSEY, Sec. War. 
May 12, '80. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Office)-. 
O. C. S. 0., November 12, 1883. 
(Indorsed as follows :) 
C War ) 
5886.-^ 12 yi881. 
( Dept. S 
12 (990. O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881). 



156 APPENDIX. 

(217.) 
[This Js not marked as an inclosure.] 

War Department, 

, 188-. 

LuciEN Young, master, Navy Dept., Equipment and Recruiting, can be detailed 
by Navy Dept. Wliat action will be taken ? Expect to commaml the ship. 

Official copy from the records of tlie Signal Office. 



Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 13, 1883. 



(218.) 

« 

Washington, D. C, May 7i]>, 1880. 
Commissary-General, U. S. Army, 

Washington, D. C. : 

Sir: I have the honor to request to be furnished with the articles named in the fol- 
lowing list : 

Oatmeal 4 barrels. 

Cocoa 3.50 pounds. 

Potatoes (dessicated) 1, 600 pounds. 

Peaches (dried ) 3.50 pounds. 

Molasses (Porto Rico) 2o0 gallons. 

Vinegar (pure cider) 300 gallons. 

Cod-fish (dried). 350 pounds. 

Raisins (layer) 150 pounds. 

Figs 100 pounds. 

Olive oil 10 gallons. 

Bologna sausage (Lyons) 200 pounds. 

Pickles (cucumbers) 1 300 pounds. 

Pickles (assorted) 200 pounds. 

Ship biscuit 18, 200 pounds. 

Sauerkraut 1, 400 pounds. 

Condensed milk .35 gallons. 

Tobacco (smoking) 900 pouiuls. 

Tobacco (plug) , 300 x^ounds. 

Pipes (briarwood) 100 

Pipes (clay) 3 boxes. 

Lime juice 1, .500 pounds. 

Split peas 3 bushels. 

Pearl barley 1 bushel. ' 

Mustard 10 pouuds. 

Soap (common bar) 300 pouuds. 

Soap (glycerine and Windsor) 100 pounds. 

Hogs' lard (best quality) 3 barrels. 

Spirits of wine ." 150 gallons. 

Lucifer matches 4 cases. 

Apples (green) 3 bushels. 

Potatoes (raw) .50 bushels. 

Turnips 25 bushels. 

Onions , 10 bushels . 

Pemmican (Hudson Bay) 5, 008 jiounds. 

Now in custom-house, Georgetown, and bill in my hands. 

Cranberries 10 bushels. 

Cabbages (green) 100 heads. 

All articles to be strongly packed, and delivered in Washington on or before the 
20th instant, except those marked with a red cross, which will be held for delivery 
until June Ist, if not previously called for. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. W. HOWGATE, 
1st Lieut. 20th Infantry, Acting Signal Officer U. S. A. 



APPENDIX. 157 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, May 12, 1880. 
EespectfuUy forwarded. It is recommeuded that these supplies be furnished to en- 
able timely preparation to be made for ihe expedition to establish a station in the 
Arctic regions. 

ALBEET J. MYER, 
Brig. Gen'l {Bvt. Ass'g^d) Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 

Approved : 

ALEX. EAMSEY, 

Sec. War. 
May 12, '80. 
OfBcialcopy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. 0., Novemier 12, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) 
5886 { 13 yi881. 

( Dept. ) 
13(990. 0. C. S. O. Mis. 1881. 



(219.) 

War Department, 
Quartermaster-General's Office. 

Washington^ D. C, May 13, 1880. 

To the honorable Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. : 
Sir : I have the honor to report that, in compliance with your approval of May 12th, 
1880, Captain A. F. Rockwell, depot quartermaster, this city, has this day been di- 
rected to purchase the following articles called for by Lieut. H. W. Howgate, as being 
required for his expedition to establish a station in the Arctic regions, viz : 
Two (2) M feet inch pine board. 
One (1) M feet pine scantling, assorted sizes. 
Two thousand (2,000) pounds of roofing felt. 

One (I) frame house complete, now ready for delivery by Mr. IST. Anderson, carpenter 
and builder, corner 14th and G streets NW., Washington, D. C. 
Verv respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

" . . M. C. MEIGS, 

Q'r M'r Gen'l, Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., November 12, 1883. 
(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 
5886 < 14 V1881. 
( Dept. ) 
14 (990. O. C. S. O. Mis. 1881.) 



(220.) 

Washington, D. C, May 7th, 1880. 
Quartermaster-General, U. S. Army, 

Washington, D. C. : 
Sir : I have the honor to request to be furnished with the articles named in the fol- 
lowing list on or before the 20th inst. : 
One (1) anvil. 
One (1) wrought-irou vise. 



158 APPENDIX. 

One (1) 4-pound blacksmiths' liammer. 

One (1) 2i " " " 

Two (2) pairs blacksmiths' tongs. 

One (1) cutting-off tool. 

Twenty-four (24) snow knives, 18-in. blade. 

Twelve (12) cod lines, double, with hooks, assorted sizes. 

Six (6) fishing nets with assorted sisez meshes from 4 to 6 inches, 50 yards long, and 
20 inches deep. 

Two hundred (200) pounds of strap-iron. 

One hundred (100) blankets. 

Thirty (30) cavalry overcoats. 

Thirty (30) haversacks. 

One hundred (100) pairs of drawers. 

One (1) gross of sail needles. 

One (1) gross of darning needles. 

One (1) gross coarse sewing needles. 

Twenty -live (25) papers of pins. 

Three (3) pounds of linen thread, white. 

Fifty (50) tape needles. 

Twenty-four (24) shoe knives. 

Three (3)pounds black linen thread. 

One hundred (100) pairs of goggles. 

Twelve (12) pairs of shears. 

Twelve (12) pairs of scissors. 

One (1) ton of charcoal in barrels. 

Two thousand (2,000) feet inch j)ine boards. 

One thousand (1,000) feet pine scantling, assorted sizes. 

Two thousand (2,000) pounds wrought-iron in rods and bars, to be selected. 

Two thousand (2)000) pounds of roofing felt. 

One (1) frame house complete, now ready for delivery by Mr. N. Anderson, carpenter 
and builder, cor. 14th and G streets NW., Washington, D. C. 

Six (6) small boat stoves, to be selected. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. W. HOWGATE. 
1st. Lieut. 20th Infantry, Acting Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Approved : 

ALEXANDEE EAMSEY, 

Secretary of War. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

O. C. S. O., Nov. 12, 1883. , 

(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) 
5886^ 15 V1881. 

( Dept. S 
15. (990. O. C. S. O. Mis. 1881.) 



(221.) 



Dr. Octave Pavy was engaged as an act'g ass't surgeon for the expedition, under 
contract made by order of the Secretary of War. Date can be obtained from Surgeon 
General U. S. Army. 

(S'g'd) A. W. GREELY, 

1st LH 5 Cav., A. S. 0. and Ass'i. 

O. C. S. O., M'ch 28, '81. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 
O. C. S. O., Nor. 12, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War > 

5886. ■( 16 >1881. 
( Dep't. ) 
16. (990, 0. C. S. O.; Mis. 1881.) 



APPENDIX. 159 

(222.) 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

April 30, 1880. 
General : The Board called for under your instruction No. 29, of April 29, have 
met, considered the subjects mentioned in the aforesaid instruction and in the order 
in which they are therein named, and have the honor to report the following plan 
for "astronomical, meteorological, and magnetic work in high latitudes." 

I. — Magnetic work at fixed stations. 

The outfit necessary for this work is considered to he as follows : 

1. The unifiliar declinometer or the complete magnetometer, as made by Fauth &, 
Co., Washington, D. C, No. 70 of their catalogue, and costs about $400. This should 
have a set of very light needles as well as the ordinary heavy ones, and is to be used 
for absolute and differential observations of declination. 

2. A Kew dip circle to be used for dip and total intensity. It should be compared 
with similar observations made at Washington, at the Coast Survey magnetic ob- 
servatory, before starting in the expedition and also after the return. 

3. A ship's chronometer very accurately rated in mean time. With these instru- 
ments the declination, dip, and total intensity should be determined on the 1st and 
15th of each month. The differential observations of declination are to be made with 
the declinometer every day, three times a day, namely, at 7 a. m., 3 p. m., and 11 p. 
m., Washington time, and are to be made by taking readings at the first second of 
every minute for fifteen minutes, namely, from 7 a. m. to 7.15 a. m., 3 p. m. to 3.15 p. 
m., 11 p. m. to 11.15 p. m. 

By this means there will be seciired observations simultaneously with the Signal 
Service meteorological observation, and also simultaneous with the magnetic obser- 
vations made at the observatories that pursue the cottingen plan. 

By these means also data will be obtained for showing the rapid fluctuations to 
which needles are subject when an aurorial distvirbance is taking place. 

The term days will be the 1st and 15th of each month, on which days, besides the 
fifteen minutes' observation previously provided for, there will be made a special set 
of readings of the declinometer at the beginning of each five minutes throughout the 
entire day, or, if this be not possible, then at least in groups of two hours and fifteen 
minutes, viz, from 6.15 a. m. to 8.15 a. m. ; 2 p. m. to 4.15 p. m. ; 10 p. m. to 12.15 a.. 
m., Washington time. 

II. — The magnetic observations at temporary stations by traveling par- 
ties. 

The outfit for this class of work will be as follows for each party : 

1. Casella astronomical theodolite, as made by Fauth & Co., No. 60 of catalogue^ 
which is considered decidely preferable to the English make, it having 3-inch circles, 
and costing $150 with its stand. This instrument can be used for determination of 
latitude, time, longitude, azimuth, and magnetic declination. 

2. Kew dip circle, small size, to be used for determination of magnetic dip and in- 
tensity. 

3. Two pocket chronometers, kept accurately rated on mean time. With these in- 
struments the absolute dip and intensity should be determined at every convenient 
stopping place, and if the party stays long at any station, these elements should be 
determined each day, and especially at 7 a. m., 3 p. m., and 11 p. m. , Washington time, 
as befoi-e directed for the permanent station. 

The term day observations should be also kept up by the traveling parties if they 
happen to be at convenient stations on the 1st and 15th of the month. 

Observers will have to be especially iustriicted in the use of the instruments. The 
best works of reference are : 

Riddell's Magnetic Instructions, London, 1844. 

Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry, 1871. 

Admiralty Arctic Manual, 1875. 

AValker's Terrestrial and Cosmical Magnetism, 1866. 

Coast Survey Special Instructions. 

The form for records may be those given by Eiddell, with such modifications as the 
modern construction of magnetic instruments may demand. 

IIIo — Meteorological observations. . 

These should be made at least three times daily, at the exact hours of simultaneous. 



160 APPENDIX. 

observatious, 7 a. m., 3 p.m., and lip. m., WasMngton time; and, unless abso- 
lutely impossible, intermediate observations should be made every two or four hours, 
the complete series being at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 a. m., and 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 p. m. 
In case that self-registeriug apparatus is supplied, the personal observations of those 
items that are so recorded need be made onlv at 7 a. m., 3 p. m., and 11 p. m. 

The thermometers and barometers shoiild be of suj)erior quality, and in general the 
instruments and methods of instruction embodied in the instructions to observer ser- 
geants of the Signal Corps should be followed. The outfit should be that of a iirst- 
class Sigual Service station, to which should be added the following supplementary 
instruments : 

1. Self-recording Barometer. 

2. Self-recording Thermometers. 

3. Eegnault's Dew Point Apparatus. 

4. Vacuum Solar Radiation Thermometers. 

5. Hick's Terrestrial Radiation Thermometers. 

6. Heiss' Apparatus for Convergence of Auroral Beams. 

7. A number of small iudia-rubber balloons and apparatus for filling them for as- 
certaining air currents, height of clouds, &c. 

Special instructions for the use of these instruments are scarcely necessary on ac- 
count of their simplicity ; but, in order to call attention to many minor points, the 
observer should be furnished with extra copies of the following works : 

Signal-Service instructious. 

Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry. 

Admiralty Arctic Manual. 

Instructions to the Floi'ence expedition. 

Pickering's Physical Manipulations. 

Kohlrausch's Physical Measurements. 

Everett's Translation of Deschanel's Natural Philosophy. 

Loomis' Meteorology. 

Buchans' Meteorology. 

Kaemtz' Meteorology. 

Special attention is called to the importance of accurate observations at every sta- 
tion of the minute details of auroral phenomena and their changes (see Stoke in the 
Arctic Manual, page 19). which should be recorded carefully by diagrams and other- 
wise, together with the hour, minute, and second of the phenomena. 

IV. — Astronomical observations. 

The only astronomical observations recommended as imperative are those for de- 
termining latitude, longitude, and time. 

Such observations must be made every day at sea and when traveling. The posi- 
tion of the central station must be determined by observations made at every favor- 
able opportunity until there have been accumulated at least ten independent deter- 
minations of latitude and longitude, so that the mean of all may be reasonably accu- 
rate. The determination of the errors of the chronometers must be made whenever 
practicable, and the resulting corrections immediately deduced, so that the meteor- 
ological and magnetic observers may be able to maintain strict simultaniety in their 
observations. 

As in all the physical and astronomical observations to be made the same chronom- 
eters must be used, and as these latter are most conveniently kept on Greenwich time, 
it is recommended that all records and daily reckonings should without exception be 
ke-pt ou Greenwich mean time ; that is to say, in the corrected chronometer time. 
It will thus happen that the simultaneous s. a. m. observations will be made as fol- 
lows: 

7 h. m. s. a. m., Washington time. 

12 h. 8 m. 12.09 s. p. m., Greenwich time. 

12 h. 47 m. 58.33 s. p. m., Gottingen time. 

The only apparatus recommended as outfit for parties is as follows: 
I. — For traveling parties — for each party. 

1. Pistar & Martin's prismatic circle, which is considered preferable to the sextant 
as it measures larger angles, which are oftentimes imperatively needed. The instru- 
ments should be constructed with special reference to use at very low temperatures. 

2. Mercurial or artificial horizon. 

3. Two pocket chronometers for central station. 

1st. The Casella asti'onomical theodolite, as made by Fauth, as before enumerated 
under the head of "Magnetic Work." 



APPENDIX. 161 

If this cannot be furnished, then the astronomical transit, capable of being used ia 
any meridian, should be fiirnished ; but this is more cumbersome to be set up, and is 
not recommended. 

Either instrument should be especially constructed for use at very low temperatures. 

2d. Pistar's & Martin's prismatic circle, or if not possible, the sextant constructed 
by Fauth, No. 73, of this catalogue, price $110. 

3d. The artificial horizons. 

4th. Four box chronometers. 

With these pieces of apparatus it is believed that a skillful observer can determine 
his position vrith all needed accuracy. The instructions to be followed in the us^ of 
these instruments are to be found in Chauvenet's Practical Astronomy, Nautical Al- 
manac (U. S.), Bowditch's 5-figure Logarithm Tables. 

In the determination of the errors of sextants and circles reference should be made 
to the Memoir by Harkness, in the U. S. Naval Observation for 1869, Appendix 1, 
page 51. 

On tlie use of the portable transit, the Zenith Telescope, &.c., if provided, see Hil- 
gard and others, in the Coast Survey volumes of observations. 

The only purely astronomical work to which it is recommended that special atten- 
tion be given will consist in observing the phenomena; of shooting stars. 

In this class of work the principal point is the determination of the radiating point 
for each group of shooting stars that may be seen, for which purpose the observer 
needs to be supplied with a number of the blank charts of stars prepared by Prof. H. 
A. Newton, or with an equivalent planisphere. 

EXTRA OBSERVATIONS. 

It is considered that the following important subjects should be recommended to 
the obserevers' attention, viz : 

1. Magnetic earth currents. (See Nipher on Earth Currents, &c. ) 

2. Tides. (Earthquakes and earth tremors of the feeblest kind. ) 

3. Pendulum experiments, 

4. Atmospheric electricity. 

5. Polarization of the light of the atmosphere. 

6. Spectroscopical observations of the aurora and shooting stars. 

7. Soundings to determine depths of sea and channel. 

8. Temperature of the sea water. 

9. Density of sea water. 

10. Thickness of the sea ice, the ice floeSj and the icebergs. 

11. The preservation of specimens of air in hermetically sealed flasks for future 
analysis at home. . 

12. The melting of large quantities of freshly fallen snow, and preservation of the re- 
sulting atmospheric and meteoric dust for future microscopical examination. 

13. Triangulation and charting of coast lines in the immediate vicinity of the sta- 
tion, the location of mountains, &c., for which a simple plane table might be pro- 
vided, and a tape line for measuring base lines. 

COMPLEMENT OF MEN. 

It is recommeded that a chief observerver and four assistant observers be detailed 
to carry out the astronomical and meteorological and magnetic observations herein 
provided for, and sneli miscellaneous work as they are able to attend to. 

The chief should be especially familiar with the astronomical and magnetic work, 
and be able to instruct observers in their duties. 

J. P. STORY. 
H. W. HOWGATJS^. 
f CLEVELAND ABBE. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal O^jicer. 

0. C. S. O., Nov. 1.3, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows:) 

5 War ) 
17 V1881. • 

Dept. ) 
17. (990. 0. C. S.O. Mis., 1881.) 
S. Ex. 100— AP 11 



162 APPENDIX. 

(323.) 
Memorandum. 

It is proposed to have the expeditionary vessel ready for sea on or about June 15, 
provided the necessary men and supplies are promptly furnished. 

The crew of the veesel will consist of fifteen officers and men, as follows : 

One captain, two mates, two engineers, one steward, two firemen, and seven seamen; 
the men being enlisted for this especial service, as provided in the act. The officers 
will be experienced sailors employed for this purpose. The use of the vessel is to be 
limited to the transportation to Lady Franklin Bay of the permanent exploring and 
scientific parties, with their necessary supplies. Having landed these the vessel will 
return to the United States. It is estimated that the round trip will be made within 
a period of five months, and an annual visit to the site of the colony or station is con- 
templated, until it shall be withdrawn or abandoned. 

The permanent party will consist of officers and men detailed from the Army, and 
who will act under the instructions of the Secretary of War. 

The supplies for these men, such as food, clothing, shelter, means of transportation, 
medicines, arms, &c., will be supplied by the several bureaus of the War Department, 
upon requisition from the officer in immediate charge of the expedition. The detail 
is desired of certain selected men now in the service, whose places in their present 
commands may be filled by the enlistment of an equal number of new recruits. It is 
requested that these selected men, fifteen in number, with an officer, also selected, be 
ordered by telegraph to report in person to the Secretary of War, in Washington, 
not later than May 15th. 

Executive Mansion, April 28, '80. 
Approved. 

E. B. HAYES. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office ; corrections as in copy on file. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 
O. C. S. O,, November 13, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 



( War 

5^ 



5886 < 18 V1881. 
( Dept. ) 
18 (990. O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(224.) 
[End. 990, Mis., '81.] 

Washington, D. C, April 27, 1880. 

Memorandum. 

Vessel. 
Steamer : Screw, 209 tons. 
Fitted to accommodate forty persons, including thejcrew. 

Crew. 

(1) one commanding officer. 

(2) two mates (one of them an ice-master). 
(2) two engineers. 

(2) two firemen. 

(1) steward. 

(7) seven seamen — 15 in all. 

Furnished with rations for sixteen (16) months, i. e. from June 1st, 1880, to October 
Ist, 1881, although it is not probable that more than five months' supply will be used, 
as the vessel should return to the United States by October 1st, 1880, if the voyage is a 
favorable one. 



APPENDIX. . 163 

As it may happen that the vessel cannot return this fall, suitable provision is made 
for such contingency. 

Officers and men are detailed from those now in service, whose pay, clothing, and 
subsistence is provided for in existing appropriations. 

Such incidentals as can be furnished for outfit of vessel— from supplies now on|haud 
in the Navy. Other to be forwarded, if needed, by the owner of the vessel. 

THE PERMAJTENT PARTY. 

To consist of: 

(2) two commissioned officers. » 

(1) one surgeon. 

(1) one photographer. 

(1) one astronomer. 

(19) nineteen enlisted men. 

One of the commissioned officers to have charge of the scientific work, the other to 
take charge of the work of exploration. The enlisted men to be detailed from those 
now in service, in order that the advantages of discipline may be secured. The 
names of one officer and fifteen men have already been submitted to the Secretary of 
War, and their detail approved by the President. One man, a carpenter, has been 
secured for enlistment, and is now at work on the vessel. 

The surgeon, who will also serve as naturalist, is selected, and may be employed as 
a contract surgeon, for $75 per month. 

The astronomer has also been secured, and is in Washington, ready for service. 

A photographer can be readily secured in Washington, and will probably be|willing 
to enlist for the expedition. 

One commissioned officer and three enlisted men are expected from the Signal Office, 
to form, with the astronomer, the scientific corps of the expedition and to work under 
instruction from the chief signal officer of the Army. 

Having discharged cargo, and the weather and water proving favorable, the vessel 
will make her way back to the United States, stopping at Disco and St. Johns for 
coal, if necessary. 

The party at the station will put up their house, and make necessary arrangements 
for protection of supplies and for the prosecution of the scientific work, and be gov- 
erned in reference to their geographical work by the weather and conditions of ice 
and water. 

The officers and men of the permanent party, being already in the service, arelpro- 
vided for as to pay, clothing, subsistence, &c., in the regular appropriations. 

(S'g'd.) H. W. HOWGATE. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 12, '83. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 

5886^ 19 >1881. 
( Dept. ) 

19. (990. O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(225.-) 



Office of the Chief of Engineers, 

United States Army, 
Washington, D. C, March 30, 1880. 
Lieut. H. W. HOWGATE, 

Acting Signal Officer, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your requisition of March 24th. 
The following will be issued to you from the engineers' depot at Willet's Point, 
N.Y.: 

One surveyor's compass. 
One 100-ft. chain. 
One set pins, (11). 



164 APPENDIX. 

The other articles asked for are not on hand, and there are no funds under the di- 
rection of this office available for purchasing them. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. G. RIGHT, 
Chief of Engineers, Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH. 

1045, G. R., 'eo. 

O. C. S. O., November I3th, 1882. 

Official copy of the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 



(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) 
5886 •{ 20 V1881. 

( Dept. ) 
20 (990. 0. C. S. O. Mis. 1881.) 



(226.) 

War Department, 
Quartermaster-General's Office, 

Washington, D. C, March 27, 1880. 

First Lt. H. W. Howgate, 

20th Infantry, Acting Signal Officer, U. S. A,, Washington, D. C. : 

Sir : I am directed by the Quartermaster-General to inform you that instructiona 
have this day been given by this office as follows, foj the supjily to you bj' not later 
than May 1st next, the following mentioned Q. M. stores, called for in your letter of 
the 24th inst, which was referred to this office from the War Department, approved 
bythe honorable the Secretary of War, viz : 
From stock on hand for issue : 

From Phila. depot, 1 portable forge, complete. 

From N. Y. depot, 1 keg cut nails 6d. 

From JefFersonville depot, 6 hand-saws, rip ; 2 grindstones & fixtures, 1 keg cut 
nails, 30d. 

Depot Q. M., this city, to purchase and supply 24 crowbars, 24 glass lanters, 2 cook- 
ing stoves, 2 heating stoves, coal, 24 lamps, 144 lamp wicks, 75 lamp chimneys, 6 kegs 
cut nails, (28d., 2 lOd., 1 20d., and 1 4d.,) and 6 wheelbarrows. 

You will be further advised by this office as to^ the articles called for by you per- 
taining to C, C. & G. equipage. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

(S'g'd) ' HENRY C. HODGES, 

Dej). Qr. Mr. Gen'l, U. S. A. 

1760, Q, M. G. O., 1880. 

Official cojiy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
0. C. S. O., Nov. 12, '83. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 
i War ) 
5886^ 21 V18S1. 
( Dept. ) 
21 (990. O. C. S. O. Mis. 1881. 



(227.) 



War Department, 
Washington City, M'ch 16, 1881. 
Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith, and to commend to favorable considera- 
tion, a copy of a communication of the 12th instant, from 1st Lieutenant A. W. Greely, 
5th Cavalry, A. S. O., and assistant, commanding the expedition for the establishing 
of an international polar station at Lady Franklin Bay, requesting the co-operatiou 



APPENDIX. 165 

of the Department of State in certain matters -wMcli he snggests in connection with 
eaid expedition. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

(S'g'd) ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War, 

The honorable the Secretary of State : 

Official copy respectfully furnished for the information of the Chief Signal Officer. 
(S'g'd) C. McKEEVER, 

Acting Adjutant General. 

Adjutant General's Office, 

Washington, M'ch2'3, 1881. 
Official copy respectfully furnished for the information of Ist Lieut. A. W. Greely, 
A. S. O., and ass't. 

(S'g'd) A. H. NICKERSON, 

Ass't. Adj. GenU,, Executive Officer. 
O. C. S. O., M'ch2i, '81. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 12, '83. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 
( War ) 

5886^ 22 V1881. 
( Dept. > 
22 (990. O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(228.) 
[Translation. See pages 2 and 3, 4 and 5.1 

International Polar Commission, 

St. Petersdurg, Sept. 17th, 1880. 
General Albert J. Myer, 

Chief Signal Officer, Washington : 

Sir : At a meeting of the International Committee of Meteorology, held lately at 
Bern, under my presidency, Messrs. Maseart, Scott, and myself did, at the request of 
seTeral meteorologists in Europe, bring to the notice of that committee your sugges- 
tion to change the hour of the simultaneous observations, aud the committee has 
thereafter resolved to recommend to all the meteorologists to adopt your suggestion. 
You can therefore be assured that from January 1, 1881, the simultaneous observa- 
tions will be made over entire Europe and in the whole of Russia, at 7h. a. m., Wash- 
ington mean time. I also foster the hope that I may be able to enlarge at that mo- 
ment the number of stations in Russia for these observations. 

About the same time there was also assembled at Bern, under the presidency of Mr. 
Neumayer, director of the " Deutsche Suwarte " at Hamburg, the International Polar 
Commission, enlarged by the election of two new members, viz, Mr. Guide Cora, of 
Turin, and myself, to speak together on the progress of its labors. It has been for- 
mally declared that already 5 points of observation of the number of eight, proposed at 
the conference at Hamburg as the condition of the execution of the enterprise, are, 
according to the resolutions of the governments, sure to he occupied, viz, the mouth of the 
Lena and the Islands of New Liberia, by Russia, Nova Zembla, by the Count Wilczek 
and Weyprecht, Bossekop in Fenmark, by Norway, Spitzberg, by Sweden, Bevmark, 
Upernivik, in Western Greenland, and it is very probable that Holland will occupy 
a second point in Nova Zembla or at the mouth of the O. C. ; that Germany will oc- 
cupy a point on the east coast of Greenland and also the island of " Georgie du Lud," 
and that Italy will establish an observatory at Cape Horn in South America. In order 
that the enterprise can be executed there only remains the consent of two other 
nations to occupy Point Barrow and one point in the Archipelago of North America. 
They have also decided to sustain in the meantime the decisions of the conference at 
Hamburg, but to delay the execution thereof until the year 1882-'83, so that other 
nations may be able to participate and occupy the remaining points. 



166 APPENDIX. 

At tlie last meeting of tlie commission I have been elected president, Mr. Neumayer 
baring resigned, and as such I address you, general, to obtain through you the pow- 
erful co-operation of the United States of America for this enterprise, which I regard 
after the establishment by you of the simultaneous observations on the Northern 
Hemisphere as one of the most useful and efficacious means to enlarge our knowledge 
of the physical condition of the globe. In our discussions together on the simultane- 
ous observations you have rej>eatedly had the kindness to promise that you could give 
your aid to like observations I might desire to undertake. Allow me now to implore 
that support promised by you for these sinmltaneous ohservations around the pole, which 
have, as you are already well aware, a character and purposes different from yours. 
They will not only be meteorological observations, but also and especially magnetic. 
We only desiie them for the period of one year, but by way of compensation /lorai obser- 
vations on days fixed beforehand and smaller intervals of time. Please examine the 
report of the Hamburg conference, which I send to you by book-post, so that you 
can acquaint yourself with all the details of the projected enterprise. 

Apart from the direct results which these observations will give for the meteorology 
of the Arctic regions and for the terrestrial magnetism, there is yet for Russia, and I 
helieve also for North America, a great indirect interest urging the success of this entei'prise. 
The hourly observations in these regions will furnish data to better correct the ob- 
servations made tri-daily at our permanent northerly stations for true means, and the 
more expeditions are sent to establish these observatories we can in the mean time es- 
tablish permanent new stations in our northerly territories by carrying tested instru- 
ments and instructing directly the observers who reside there. For us at least this 
■will be the only means to secure good meteorological stations in Northeastern Siberia. 

As we may reasonably hope to advance through these observations now in contem- 
plation our knowledge of the magnetic perturbations and the terrestnal electric cur- 
rents, the enterprise has also a special interest for your Signal Service, which will 
have often to suffer on account of terrestrial currents at the time of aurora borealis. 

As you have, besides, already signified by your letter to Mr. Weyprecht dated Sep- 
tember 8, 1879, your interest for this enterprise, and your kindness to recommend the 
same to your Government, I hope that through your care the United States will hasten 
to participate by aj)propriating the funds for the establishment of an observatory at 
Point Barrow, and supporting it during the year 1882 (autumn)-1883 (autumn). We 
invite you to be present yourself (or some one designated by you) to participate at 
the International Polar Commission, and to take part in its proceedings, at a meeting 
of the commission at St. Petexsburg next summer, when all the details will finally be 
arranged in order that the observations now contemplated have the necessary uni- 
formity. 

We hope that Canada will also lend its aid to this enterprise by occupying some 
archipelago of North America. I would be very thankful to you if, through your 
connections with that country, you could contribute to this. 

Please accept, general, the assurance of my highest regards, and my best wishes. 

The president of the International Polar Commission : 

(Signed) Dr. H. WILD. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
( Chief Signal Officer. 

0. S. S. O., Novemher 13, 1883. 

(Endorsed as follows :) 



23 (990, O. C. S. O., Mis. 1881.) 



APPENDIX. 167 

(229.) 
THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



This circle contains map of 
Arctic regions. 

NORTH 
POLE. 




Lady Franklin Bay. Lat. 81° 40' ; Ion. 64° 30'. 

Official copy from tHe records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 13, 1883. 
(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) 

5886^ 24 V1881. 
( Dep't ) 
54 (960. O. C. S. O., Mis. 1881. 



(230.) 
[End. 990, Mis. '81. 

AN ACT to authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic seas. 

Be it enacted iy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, 
authorized to establish a temporary station at some point north of the eighty -first de- 
gree of north latitude, on. or near the shore of Lady Franklin Bay, for purposes of 
scientific observation and exploration, and to develop or discover new whaling 
grounds; to detail such officers or other persons of the public service to take part in 
the same as may be necessary, and who are willing to enlist for such purpose, not ex- 
ceeding fifty in number, and to use any public vessel or vessels that may be suitable 
for the purpose of transporting the members of said station and their necessary sup- 
plies, and for such other duty in connection with said station as may be required from 
time to time : Provided, That the President of the United States is authorized to accept 
from H. W. Howgate, and fit out for the purposes of this expedition, the steamship 
Oulnare, which vessel shall be returned to its owner when the objects of the expedi- 
tion shall have been accomplished, or when, in the opinion of the President, its serv- 
ices are no longer required : Provided further, That the United States shall not be lia- 
ble to any claim for compensation in case of loss, damage, or deterioration of said ves- 
sel from any cause, or in any manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand for the 
use or risk of said vessel. 

Approved May 1, 1880. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 

O. C. S. O., Nov. 12, '83. 
(Endorsed as follows :) 

( War ) 

5886-< 25 >1881. 

( D'p't. s 

25 (990, O. C. S. O., Mis. 1881.) 



168 APPENDIX. 

(231.) 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS UNDER WAE DEPARTMENT. 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* *• # * # * # 

" Ohservation and exploration in the Arctic seas: For continuing th^ work of scientific 
observation and exploration on or near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay, and for transporta- 
tion of men and supplies to said location and return, twenty-five thousand dollars." 

* * * -^ * # * 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

€-hief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 13, '83. 

Endorsed as follows : 
{ War i 

■ 5886 < 26 kH81. 
( Dep't. S 
26 (990, O. C. S. 0. Mis., 1881.) ■ 



(232.) 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, March 8, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army: 

Sir: I have the honor to herewith submit a general outline of the plans for the 
establishment of the international polar station at Lady Franklin Bay, and to request 
that the formal approval of the honorable Secretary of War may be obtained thereto. 
Except as regards the hiring of a steam ' ' sealer " for the transportation of the party 
the conditions are the same as were formally approved by His Excellency the Presi- 
dent of the United States and by the honorable Secretary of War in 1880, as shown 
by the inclosures. The changes from last year's programme are immaterial, and are 
shown by interlineations in red. 

The permanent party shall consist of three (3) commissioned officers, one (1) con- 
tract surgeon, and twenty-one (21) men detailed from the Army or specially enlisted. 
The crew of fifteen men, including officers, shall be picked, hardy men, familiar with 
sealing and whaling work in high latitudes. The expeditionary force shall be assem- 
bled with their supplies, instruments, &c., at Washington not later than May 1.5th, 
and at St. John's, Newfoundland, not later than June 15th. 

That the party shall be transported from St. John's to Lady Franklin Bay on a 
steam sealer or whaler, which shall be hired by the commander of the expedition for 
a fixed sum per month, under a formal contract that shall release the U. S. Govern- 
ment from any or all responsibility or claim for damages in case the steamer is lost or 
destroyed. The steamer is to return to St. John's this year, being absent probably 
five months. That the enlisted men detached for such expeditionary work shall have 
such pay and allowances as accrue to men detached for duty in Washington. That 
the various Bureaus of the War Department shall furnish such instruments, supplies, 
and equipments as may bo needed for the proper outfit of the expedition. It may be 
well to state that a proper " sealer" of about five hundred tons can be chartered for 
about $1,500 per month, and that the remaining expenses would not exceed $750 per 
BQonth. 

I am, very respectfully, yours, 

A. W. GREELY, 
1st Lt. 5th Cav., A. S. O., Ass't. 
Official copy. 

C. McKEEVER, 
AssH Adjutant- General. 
Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov.12, 1882. 

Endorsed as follows : 

831, O. C. S.O. Mis., 1881. 

( War ) 
5886^ 27 yi88l. 

( Dep't. S - - 

27 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



APPENDIX. * 169 

(233.) 

War Department, Washington City, 

March 29<A, 1881. 
General : Will you please return to this Office for examination the letter which 
was approved by Secretary Ramsey authorizing Lieut. A. W. Greely to take charge 
of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition ? The Secretary desires it for a few moments. 
Very truly yours, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

CMef Clerk. 
Gen'lWM. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer, 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C. Mar. 29, '81. 
Respectfully returned to the honorable the Secretary of War. 

The letter referred to is probably in the hands of the Adjutant-General of the Army. 
Two applications for its return have been made, which resulted in a copy being fur- 
nished on the 18th inst. by the Adjutant-General, which was handed the Hon. Secre- 
tary of War on the 19th instant. The only information this office has in regard to 
Secretary Ramsey's approval is that contained in an unofficial note to me from him 
stating that he had given such approval, and in a statement he made to the same effect 
to Lieut. Greely. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C.S.O., iVot\12, 1883. 

Endorsed as follows : 

995, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881. 

ecQQ ^ War Department, ? -, qq-. 
\ received. 5 

28 (990, O. C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



(234.) 



War Department, 
Office of the. Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, March 24, 1881. 
My Dear Mr. Lincoln : Mr. Greely, the officer to command the Lady Franklin Bay 
expedition, informs me that, the requisitions only call for supplies for the fiscal year 
(from June 1, 1861, to June 30th, 1882). 

Also that the men to go were selected by name last year, and were all well hard- 
ened and disciplined men, accustomed to service and the cold weather of Dakota. 

To take the men of the Signal Corps, as I have heard mentioned might be done, 
would be impracticable, since they are not hardened soldiers, not sufficiently well dis- 
ciplined in military habits, and have not had experience in cold climates. 

In case there are other matters calling for explanation, I have to request that Mr. 
Greely be given an opportunity to explain them in person. 
I am, very resp'tf'y, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Sig. Off'r. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Noo. 12, 1883. 

Endorsed as follows : 

5890 \ "^^^ Department, ) ^ggj 
^ received. ^ 

29 (990, O C. S. O. Mis., 1881.) 



170 ' APPENDIX. 

235.) 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, I). C, April 6, 1881. 
To the honorable the Secrtary of War : 

Sir : I am unable to take the action at once necessary in the matter of the Lady 
Franklin Bay expedition until I am furnished with the formal approval of the Secre- 
tary of War. 

It is now 27 days since this action was asked, and although I have since twice 
written for it, after it was formally given by Secretary Kamsey, it has not been fur- 
nished me, although copies of the papers on which it was given have been furnished. 
Authority to use the appropriation of $25,000, when 'available, which has also been 
asked, is imperatively necessary before any steps can be taken in the way of prepara- 
tion. This is needed at once, since the St. John's steamer, which leaves New York 
hut semi-monthly, sails the 8th inst., and it is necessary to send letters by her, by 
which we will save two weeks of time. 

My great desire to expedite this work, so dependent for success on early action, 
must be my excuse for what might otherwise appear unnecessary haste. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copv from records of the Signal Office, 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
O. C. S. O., Nov. 12, 1883. 

Endorsed as follows : 

5892. War Department. Received. 1881. 
30. (990,0. C. S. O., Mis. 1881.) 



(236.) 



liist of balances remaining on hand June 30, 1881, as shown by the return of subsist- 
ence stores for June 1881, transmitted July 26,1881, from Upernavik, Greenland, by 
Lt. A. W. Greely, commanding Lady Franklin Bay expedition. 

Allspice 5 lbs. 

Apples 456 3-lb. cans. 

" 60 gal. cans. 

' ' evaporated : 100 lbs. 

Ink-black 2 bottles. 

Asparagus 96 cans. 

J3acon 242 lbs. 

Butter 3,024 " 

Chocolate, McCobbs 204 " 

" " 200 " 

Cinnamon 5 " 

Clams 24 2-lb. cans. 

Cloves 5 lbs. 

Coffee 196 R. & G. 

Corn, green 144 cans. 

Extract of lemon 24 4-oz. bottles. 

" "vanilla 24 " " 

Flour, family 6,450 lbs. 

Celatine, Swinburn 50 pkg. 

'' Nelson , 50 " 

Cinger 10 lbs. 

Ham 729 " 

Hops 100 lbs. 

Jam, blackberry 48 2-lbs. cans. 

Jelly, current 144 " " 

Lard 780 lbs. 

Lobster 48 2-lb. cans. 

Maccaroni 500 lbs. 



APPENDIX. 171 

Matches, safety 288 boxes. 

Milk ... 1,920 cans. 

Mustard 198 lbs. 

Nutmegs 5 " 

Oat-meal , 1,720 lbs. 

Oil, olive 12 bottles. 

Onions 960 2^-lb. cans. 

Oysters 96 2-lb. " 

Peaches 144 3-lb. '' 

Peaches, evaporated 250 lbs. 

Pears 48 2-lb. cans. 

" green, Am 96 cans. 

Pepper 10 lbs. 

Pickles, chow-chow 96 qt. bottles. 

' ' onions 100 gal. 

" cucumbers 250 " 

Pineapples 45 2-lb. cans. 

Pipes, briarwood 48 2. 

" " 483. 

Pipe-stems, cherry 120 J 1255. 

" " weichsel ,. 120 | 2450. 

Potatoes 1,248 2i-lb. cans. 

Preserved damsons 144 cans. 

Prunes 244 lbs. 

Easins, L. L 15^ boxes. 

" sultana 50^ lbs. 

Salmon 96 2Tlb. cans. 

Salt, table 95 bags. 

Sauce, cranberry 1,008 cans. 

Sauce, Tobin's Chili 12 bottles. 

" Worcester 12 pts. 

Soap, toilet 72 cakes. 

'' glycerince. Low's asst 96 " 

" toilet, lettered 24 '•' 

" " geranium 48 " 

Soup, ox-tail 240 cans. 

" mock-turtle 264 " 

' ' vegetable 240 pks. 

Starch, corn 40 lbs. 

Sugar, granulated 1,06"^ lbs. 

Syrup 96 gall. 

" maple 12 " 

Tapioca 25 lbs. 

Tobacco, plug 1,000 lbs. 

" Durham 300 " 

" LoneJack 25 " 

Tomatoes 960 3-lb. cans. 

Wheat, cracked 140 lbs. 

Lima beans • 120 2-lb. cans. 

Extract beef 144 1-lb. " 

Celery 24 4-oz bottles. 

Mutton 24 2-lb. cans. 

Crab-meat 48 cans. 

Eggs, condensed 504 cans. 

Farina '. 280 lbs. 

Figs 180 " 

Oooseberries 192 2-lb. cans. 

Molasses, N. O 192i galls. 

Preserved peaches 96 jars. 

Pepper, Tobasco 12 boxes. 

Pickled sourkrout 18 -^-bbls. 

Soap toilet No. 90 48 cakes. 

Khubarb 10.08 cans. 

Quinces 48 3-lb. cans. 

Shrimps ...* 48 cans. 

Soap, S. water 200 (2Hl>. bars) lbs. 

Pork 48 bbls. 

Bacon 3,000 lbs. 

Beef salt 23 bbls. 

" corned 864 2-lb. cans. 



172 APPENDIX. 

" roast 120 " " 

Hard bread 17,899 lbs. 

Com-meal 980 lbs. 

Beans 1,264 lbs. 

" 1,395 " 

" baked 576 3-lb. cans. 

Pease, split 420 lbs. 

Rice .595 " 

Hominy 1,120 10-lb. cans. 

Cheese 552 lbs. 

Coffee, R. &G 1,900 " 

Tea, green gunpowder , 200 " 

" blackOolong 48 " 

" " E. B 56 " 

Sugar, A 3,060 " 

Vinegar 269 gall. 

Candles 510 lbs. 

Soap 240 " 

Salt 1,.568" 

Pepper 75 . " 

Yeast powder , 108 " 

Letter paper 1 2 reams. 

Cap " 1 " 

Blotting " 24 sheets. 

Envelope " 3 quires. ' 

Envelopes 500 " 

Ink, red 1 bottle. 

Mucilage 4 " 

Letter folder 1 

Ruler 1 

Steel pens 2 gross. 

Sealing-wax i lb. 

Penholders 12 

Lead pencils 12 

Erasers, steel 1 

Rubber bands 1 

Commissary chest 1 

Cleaver 1 

Hatchet 1 

Meat-saw 1 

Butcher knives 3 

Tap-borers 1 

Meat-hooks 2 

Liquid measures 4 

Counter scales and weights 1 

Hammer 1 

Faucet, wooden 2 

Molasses gates 2 

Tin scoops ; 4 

Funnels 2 

Bung-starter 1 

Gimlet 2 

Platform scale 1 

Oificial copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 13, '83. 

Endorsed as follows : . 

3312, O.C. S. O.Mis.; 1883. 3477, '81 
Filed with 700 Mis. 1881. 



(237) 

Fort Conger, Lady Franklin Bay) 

Grinnell Land, August 15th, 1883. 
To the Chief Signal Officer op the Army. 

Sir: 

» # # # # # * 

At 12.30 p. m., August 2d, Littleton Island was reached. A personal and exhaustive 



APPENDIX. 173 

search of seven hours was necessary to find the English mail, which in four boxes and 
three kegs have been forwarded to you in order that they may be returned to England. 
There was a very small cairn near the mail, but with no record. A record, enclosure 
H, was left by me. Lt. Lockwood with a party landed about 6|- tons of coal, as a depot 
of fuel for possible future use. It is in and aroimd a lai'ge cask, on low ground on the 
southwest side of the island, facing Cape Alexander. 

■i^ * * * Jf # *■ 

At 2 p. m. the ship stopped in the NE. end of Carl Eitter Bay, where I had decided 
to place a small depot of i^rovisious in case of a retreat southward in 188.3. 

About two hundred and twenty-five bread and meat rations were landed by a party 
under myself, which Lt. Kislingbury and Dr. Pavy accompanied. 

A depot was made on the first bench from the sea, just north of a little creek in the 

extreme NE. part of the bay. 

# *"* « # * « 

I am, respectfully, y'rs, 

A. W. GEEELY, 
Is^ Ut 5 Oav., A. S. 0. cj- AssH, Com'd'g L. F. B. Exp'd 

Official extract from the records of the Signal Office. (Full copy of communication 
from which above is an extract furnished court of inquiry Nov. 9th, 1883.) 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Sig7ial Officer. 



(238.) 
[990, Mia. 1881,] 

War Department, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, M'ch '29th, 1881. 
To the Chief Signal Officer : 

Sir : At the instance of the Secretary of War I have the honor to request that you 
furnish this ofiice, at the earliest practicable moment, with a brief statement of all 
action had in the case of the Franklin Bay expedition from its inception to the pres- 
ent time, including what was attempted in the execution of the work. 
I am, sir, very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

E. C. DEUM, 

A djutant- Genera I 

Ist endorsement. 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington, D. C, Mar. 29, 1881. ' 
Eespectfully returned to the Adjutant-General, War Department. 
This paper, just received, is returned with the i^apers therein called for. 
Attention of the Hon. the Secretary of War is invited to the importance of speedy 
action, particularly with reference to the detail of Lieutenant F. F. Kislingbury. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S, A. 

(Chief Signal Officer.) 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer. 
Nov. 13, '83. 

Endorsed as follows : 

990, O. C.'S. O., Mis., 1881. 

c,og^ ^ War Department, ? -.go-. 
\ received. ) 

Filed with 700 Mis., 1831. 



174 APPENDIX. 

(239.) 
[Vol. 27, p. 1, L. S., '83.] 

War Department, Office Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, May 14, 1883. 

To the honorable the Secretary of War : 

Sir : In relation to the relief ship to he sent to reach and bring back the party now 
at Lady Franklin Bay, since it is impracticable under the present provision by Con- 
gress to have but one vessel, and as it will limit the safety of Arctic parties to the 
contingencies of the successful voyage of this one ship, it is respectfully requested 
that the Secretary of the Navy be communicated with, with a view to his sending a 
ship of that branch of the service as escort, to bring back information, render as- 
sistance, and take such other steps as might be necessary in case of unforeseen emerg- 
encies. 

She need not enter the ice pack nor encounter any unusual danger. 
I believe this step to be in the interests of careful and humane policy. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Gen'l, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer.. 
Nov. 12, '83. 



(240.) 



Navy Department, 
Washington, November 12, 1883. 
Sir: In compliance v^ith your request of the 8th inst., I have the honor to transmit, 
herewith, for the use of the Court of Inquiry now in session in this city, certified copies 
of instructions, reports, and other papers, on record in this Department, relating to the 
cruise of the U. S. S. Yantic in Arctic waters, in connection with the Greely Eelief Ex- 
pedition. 

I have to inform you that on the 9th instant the Department, as requested by you, 
notified Commander Frank Wildes and Lieutenant John C. Colvell, of the Yantic, to 
hold themselves in readiness to appear as witnesses before the court referred to, should 
their attendance be required, and directed them to report their address to the Judge 
Advocate of the court. 

Very respectfully, 

EDWAED T. NICHOLS, 

Acting Secrtary of the Navy. 
The Honorable Robert T. Lincoln, 

Secretary of War. 



[4778 B, War Dep.l.] 

United States of America. 

Navy Department, 
Washington, D. C, November 12, 1883. 
Pursuant to section 882 of the Revised Statutes, I hereby certify that the annexed are 
true copies of papers on record in this Department. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the Navy 
Department of the United States to be affixed, at the City of Washington, this twelfth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three.. 
and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth. 

[seal.] ED. T. NICHOLS, 

Acting Secretary of the Navy. 



APPENDIX. 175 

(241.) 

Navy Department, 
Washington, June 9, 1883. 
- Sir: The steam sealer Proteus, Captain Pike, has been chartered by the Chief Signal 
Officer of the Army to proceed to Smith's Sound and Kennedy Channel for the purpose^ 
of bringing to St. John's, N. F., Lieutenant Greeley, U. S. A., and the party under his 
command (about twenty in all, who have been stationed at Fort Conger, Lady Franklin 
Sound), for the past two years, engaged in obtaining meteorological data for the use of 
the U. S. Signal Service. Lieutenant Greeley's party was conveyed to Fort Conger by 
Captain Pike, in the Proteus, during the summer of 1881 ; and last summer an unsuc- 
cessful effort was made in the steam sealer Neptune to communicate with the above- 
mentioned officer. 

Inclosed herewith for your information are copies of a letter from Lieutenant Greely ta 
the Chief Signal Officer, written after the arrival of the former at Fort Conger: " Work 
of the Signal Service in the Arctic regions; " track chart of the steamer Neptune from 
July to September, 1882; instructions to Lieutenant Greeley; and instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, U. S. A., "commanding relief vessel to Lady Franklin Bay." 

An examination of these papers will acquaint you with the object of the relief expe- 
dition and the importance of its success. You will, therefore, when in all respects in 
readiness for sea, proceed with the vessel under your command to St. John's, Newfound- 
land. 

After having filled up with coal at St. John's, proceed to the northward, through Davis 
Straits, in company with the steamer Proteus, if practicable; but before leaving that 
port you will confer with Lieutenant Garlington, and make arrangements which will 
enable you to act advantageously in the event of an early separation from the Proteus, 
which ship, being fitted for cruising in the ice, will probably take advantage of oppor- 
tunities to reach her destination which you would not feel authorized in taking in the 
Yantic. ^^^. 

In view of the possibility of the destruction of the Proteus, it is desirable that you 
should proceed as far north as practicable in order to afford succor to her officers and 
men in the event of such an accident, and it is desired that you should await there the 
return of that ship, or the arrival of authentic information as to her fate. '''^' '' 

Under no circumstances, however, will you proceed beyond Littleton Island, Smith's. 
Sound, and you are not to enter the "ice-pack," nor to place your ship in a position to^ 
prevent your return this season. You will take on board at St. John's all the coal that, 
you can safely carry below and on deck, as it is very desirable that you reach your des- 
tination with an ample supply still remaining for use. It may be possible to obtain a 
small supply of coal on the coast of Greenland, but this cannot be relied upon. 

In cruising to the northward, you will rely to a certain extent upon the ice pilot, and 
upon the information which is given you by the Danish authorities at Disco and Uper- 
navik, as to the probable movements of the ice in Smith's Sound, based upon their 
knowledge of the prevailing winds and their effects upon the moving ice. 

The length of your stay to the northward of Upernavik must depend upon your dis- 
cretion, and should you find it imperative to leave the vicinity of Littleton Island or 
Cape York before the return of the Proteus, you will establish a station on shore (hav- 
ing previously, in consultation with Lieutenant Garlington, settled upon prominent, 
points on the coasts of Smith's Sound or Baffin's Bay for this purpose), in which you 
will leave information as to your movements. 

In issuing the instructions for your cruise the details must be left to your judgment, 
and the Department considers it only necessary to call your attention to the desirability 
of cordially co-operating with Lieutenant Garlington, affording him all the assistance iu 
your power. 

The report of the Secretary of the Navy for 1873, containing the reports of the cruises 
of the U. S. S. Juniata and Tigris [Tigress] in search of the Polaris, and an abstract of 
the log of the Tigris [Tigress] with her track chart, are forwarded herewith. 

Two officers of the Army and eight enlisted men will take passage with you from New 
York to St. Johns, together with their baggage and the mail of Lieutenant Greeley. 

Issue rations and bedding to the enlisted men, and make them and the officers as com- 
fortable as possible. 

Good steaming coal can be obtained directly from the mines at Cow Bay or Sidney^ 
Harbor, Island of Cape Breton, at about |1.80 per ton, and upon your return, if yoit 
require coal, you will obtain it at one of the above-mentioned ports. 

When you have completed this duty you will return with the Yantic to New York. 
Very respectfully, 

ED. T. NICHOLS, 
Acting Secretary of the Navy. 

Commander Frank Wildes, U. S. N., 

Commd''g U. 8. S. Yantic, New York (Comd't). 



176 APPENDIX. 

(242.) 

Navy Department, 
Washington, June 9, 1883. 
Sir: Be pleased to receive on board the U. S. steamer Yantic for transportation to St. 
John's, N. F., eleven hundred (1,100) pounds of fresh vegetables, part of the supplies 
for the Greeley relief expedition and left by the steamer Alhambra. 
Very respectfully, 



Commander Frank Wildes, U. S. Navy, 

Commd^g U. 8. S. Yantic. 

(Commo. Upshur.) 



ED. T. NICHOLS, 

Acting Secretary of the Navy. 



(243.; 



U. S. S. Yantic, 3d Eate, 
St. John's, N. F., June 25, 1883. 
Commodore J. G. Walker, U. S. N., 

Chief of Bureau, of Navigation: 

Sir: I have the honor to report that the Yantic under my command, ordered to accom- 
pany the Greeley relief party to the coast of Greenland as a reserve ship in case of dis- 
aster to the Proteus, sailed from N. Y. navy-yard at 4 p. m. June 13, and proceeded 
through Hell Gate, Long Island Sound, and Vineyard Sound. 

On the 14th, the wind being fresh from the N. E. and ship making little way, I an- 
chored for the night in Vineyard Haven. The wind having moderated, I got under way 
early on the morning of the 15th and proceeded to sea by Pollock Reef Lt. ship. 

Light easterly and northeasterly winds prevailed the entire passage, and from Sable 
Island onward dense fogs shut us in. I felt my way around Cape Race by the lead, and 
by evening of the 20th was mthin fifteen miles of St. John's. Weather very thick. I 
put the ship under canvas, banked fires, and stood oft' and on for 16 hours, when the fog 
lifted a little I ran in for the land, making Cape Spear and the entrance to St. John's 
directly ahead, and anchored at 2 p. m. June 21st. 

The usual courtesies of the port were oftered by Commander Robinson, R. N. , harbor- 
master, and the same day I paid my respects to the governor. Sir Henry Maxse. I at- 
tended a reception at the Gov't House the same evening, and dined with the Governor 
the evening of the 22d. 

During the passage Lieut. Garlington, U. S. A., messed in the cabin and Surgeon Har- 
rison in the ward-room. The 7 enlisted men of U. S. A. were made as comfortable as our 
own men. Immediately on our arrival they were sent ashore to the hotel at Lt. Gar- 
lington's request. 

When the Yantic sailed from N. Y. her sheathing was under water. As I intended to 
take about 50 tons coal on deck and not to use it until obliged to do so, and as she buries 
a good deal with the extra weight, I have decided to put two courses of plank sheath- 
ing above what was put on at New York yard, at a probable cost of $175. 

Two ice-pilots only have presented themselves, Capts. Walsh and Denift'. The for- 
mer is strongly recommended, and I like his appearance. He has been as far north as 
■Cape York. I have engaged him at $120 per month. 

I shall be ready to sail Wednesday, 27th inst. , and shall accompany the Proteus to 
sea. As she will steam direct to Disco, while it will take the greater part of my coal 
to do so, as soon as we are clear of the land I shall haul fires and not start them again 
until we meet the ice. 

I will leave communications for the Dept. and for Lt. Garlington at Disco andUperna- 
vik, and for Garlington at Cape York, the westernmost of the Cary Islands, Pandora 
Harbor, whi.ch will be my objective, and Littleton Id. 

Unusuallj'' heavy ice was met by the sealers on the Labrador coast this spring, but 
very little has come down to this latitude. One iceberg, very large, is reported 150 
miles SE. of St. John's. 

I have onboard provisions for eight months. In accordance with the Bureau's tele- 
gram Lieut. Colwell has reported for duty to Lieut. Garlington. As he is an oificer 
both zealous and energetic it will be a strong addition to the relief party, although it 
weakens this vessel in a department which should be strong. 

Inclosed please find a memorandum agreed upon between Lt. Garlington and myself. 
Very respectfully, 

FRANK WILDES, 

Comcfr, Comd'g. 



APPENDIX. 177 

Memorandum of mi agreement hetioeen Lieut. Garlington, U. S. A., and Comdr. Wildes, U. S. N. 

Yantic will proceed to sea with Proteus and remain in company as long as possible. 
Yantic will proceed to Disco under sail. Will leave letters for Lt. G. at Disco and 
TJpernavik. 

Cairns inclosing bottles or tins will be left at Cape York, NW. Gary Id. or Hakluyt 
Id., Pandora Harbor, and Littleton Id. Y. will remain in Pandora Harbor not later 
than Aug. 25th ; Disco not later than Sept. 20th. 

. Lt. G. to leave letters in Disco and Upernavik, and records on N. W. Gary Id. or Hak- 
luyt Id., Littleton Id., and Pandora Harbor, if entered. 

Proteus to endeavor to communicate with Yantic at Pandora Harbor before Aug. 25th. 

Should Proteus be lost push a boat or party south to Yantic. 

Pandora Harbor will be headquarters, but before departure, Yantic will run up to Lit- 
tleton Id. 



[4778 B 2.] 

United States of America. 

Navy Department, 
Washington, D. C, November 12, 1883. 

Pursuant to section 882 of the Revised Statutes, I hereby certify that the annexed are 
trvie copies of papers on record in this Department. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Navy 
Department of the United States to be affixed, at the city of Washington, this the twelfth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty -three, 
and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth. 

[seal.] ED. T. NICHOLS, 



Hon. Secretary of War. 



Acting Secretary of the Navy. 



(245.) 
[Telegram.] 

St. John's, N. F., September 13, 1883. 
Hon. Wm. E. Chandler, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. : 
United States steamer Yantic has arrived, bringing Gapt. Pike and crew of Proteus, 
Lieut. Garlington and Greeley relief party ; all well. Steamer Proteus was crushed in 
ice six miles north of Cape Sabine, July twenty-third. Crew and relief party, after de- 
positing records at Littleton Island and Pandora Harbor, retreated south in six boats to 
Upernavik, suffering much hardship in Melville Bay. Yantic reached Littleton Island 
August third without much difficulty ; found records, and immediately proceeded south- 
ward ; searched coast and islands thoroughly down to Saunders' Islands. Icepack then 
closed in, and could neither get around nor through, and was obliged to retreat under 
lee of Northumberland Island. Ninth. Southward gale having loosened pack, was able 
to get through and continue search. Coast about Cape York filled with ice packed close. 
Could not get within twenty miles of land. Tenth. Having ice in all directions but 
southeast, proceeded to Upernavik ; sent fifteen days' rations to Lesinsake and whale 
boat to Cape Shackleton. Twenty-second. Sailed for coal mine ; there to Godsaven. 
Thirty-first. Lieut. Colwell arrived in Launch from Upernavik, having been thirty-nine 
days in open boat ; had separated under orders at Cape York ; sailed same day for Up- 
ernavik ; found party ; arrived Sej)t. second ; proceeded homeward ; rough passage ; per- 
mission wished to coal here. 

FRANK WILDET. 



(246.) 
[Telegram.] 

St. John's, N. F., September 15, 1883. 
To Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C: 

To charter another foreign ship with foreign crew for this duty to go north at this late 
season would simply invite fresh disaster. Proteus handled very unskillfully and crew 
behaved shamefully at wreck. Ship must be American manned and officered by Navy 

S. Ex. 100— AP 12 



178 APPENDIX. 

and thoroughly equipped. Unless winter quarters can be reached north of Cape Athol 
the attempt would be useless. This cannot be done. Melville Bay will be impassable 
by October first at latest. Ship cannot winter at Upemavik and carmot sledge north 
from there. 

FRANK WILDES. 



(247.) (Copy.) 

U. S. S. YANTIC, 3d KATE, 
St. John's, N. F., Sepfr 17, 1883. 
Commodore J. G. "Walker, U. S. N., 

Chief of Bureau of Navigation: 

Sir : I have the honor to make a report of a cruise to the west coast of Greenland as 
reserve ship for the Greely relief expedition under orders dated June 9, 1883. 

June 29th, the steamer Proteus, carrying the relief party under Lieutenant E. A. 
Garlington, U. S. A., being ready, this vessel under my command sailed from St. John's, 
N. F., in her company for Godhaven, Island of Disco. 

I ran a little to the ed. of north in order to avoid the Labrador ice which was reported 
as very heavy this year, the latest arrival at St. John's from that coast having reported 
the ice moving oif shone, while the Proteus kept to the wd. , so we soon parted company. 
I hauled fires and put the ship under sail, intending to and making the entire passage in 
that way to save coal. 

Variable weather was met with, but the winds were generally fair. Icebergs were 
seen daily, increasing in number as we proceeded northward, and a good deal of foggy 
weather prevailed. Oif Cape Farewell a SE. gale was encountered lasting twenty-four 
hours, with heavy sea. The vessel behaved admirably, notwithstanding her deck load 
of coal, and although she broached to once, having too much sail on, yet she took in but 
little water. 

Light variable airs and calms with fine weather prevailed from Sukkertoppen on- 
ward, and I entered the harbor of Godhaven July 12th, just as bad weather was coming 
on, having made the passage in thirteen (13) days under sail. 

I found the Proteus here, she having made the passage in seven (7) days under steam, 
meeting the Labrador ice off Sandwich Bay. Lieutenant Garlington had been detained 
by the absence of the inspector, and could not get the stores left here last year, but that 
ofiScer had just arrived, and having obtained them, the Proteus sailed July 15th for 
Disco Fiord to procure a native dog-driver, and thence northward. 

Eepairs on the boiler detained me here six (6) days, when the brig Peru arrived and 
the inspector gave me 15 tons of coal from her. After waiting two days longer for fog 
and thick weather to clear, I sailed on the 21st for Kittenbank, Governor Khuntsen 
having promised me twenty (20) tons of coal. 

I arrived there early in the morning, and by night had taken most of it in, but the 
weather becoming bad and the anchorage being very insecure I was obliged to shift my 
berth. Having partially cleared next morning I finished coaling, and at 11 a. m. 
sailed for the Kudlisit coal mine, which was reached at 6 p. m. The weather was 
thick and rainy, and landmarks could not be seen, and I only recognized the place by 
seeing the tent of our Eskimo laborers sent ahead to get the coal out. 

On landing I found that they had done nothing and were in a state of starvation, so 
next morning, 25th, I sent our men ashore, and up to 4 p. m. of the 26th had taken on 
board about thirty tons. The coal is very light and I did not stop to weigh it; but the 
decks were full, and I dared heap up no more. 

At 6 p. m. I sailed for Upemavik, having clear, fine weather. Off Ominak Fiord swung 
ship for compass deviations, surrounded by hundreds of bergs. Reached Upernavik at 
10 p. m. July 27th, and remained until noon July 31st, waiting for thick foggy weather to 
clear. 

Gov. Elborg stated that the previous winter had been very mild, and their fisheries 
had been a failure. The prevailing winds up to this time had been SW. , and he thought 
it likely there was little ice in Mehille Bay, and what there was would be jammed close 
home on the land. 

July 31st I sailed for the north with fine weather and fair wind. Made the well-known 
points to Arctic navigators of Brown Id. , Berry Ids. , Cape Shackleton, Wilcox Head, and 
Devil's Thumb. Passed the Duck Ids. within a mile at 2 a. m. Aug. 1st, and stood direct 
for Cape York. 

At noon the fog shut down thick, but I kept moving ahead, many bergs appearing 
and disappearing in the gloom. Snowing fast at 6 p. m. At 8 weather cleared so I 
could see about three miles. At midnight made streams of loose ice and saw pack-ice 
on starboard beam, and at la. m. , August 20th, it cleared altogether, and I saw Cape 



APPENDIX. 179 

York bearing NNW. , and the land as far east as the Peaked Hills. The pack appeared 
to be jammed close in around the cape, and stretched away to the west, east, and SE. as 
far as could be seen from the cro'nest, and about thirty miles off shore. The fast ice, 
consisting of unbroken floes, extended out about half that distance. 

I skirted the pack, occasionally cutting oft' a corner or driving through loose streams, 
much annoyed by fog which had again set in, and which prevented our seeing far ahead 
and not at all to the SW. , and I was in great anxiety lest we should become involved too 
deeply. However, at noon it cleared off bright and warm, wind NW., the pack trended 
away towards Cape Athol and Wolstenholm Id., and I was able to lay a course for the 
SE. , one of the Gary Ids. group, which was reached at 9. 30 p. m. , August 20. 

A cairn was found on a sloping beach of rock and rubble at the SE. end, and a record 
by Lt. Garlington stating that the ' ' Proteus ' ' had arrived July 21st at 3 p. m. , having 
run through pack-ice since 5.30 a. m. of the 18th inst., Lat. 73° 40^ N., Long. 61° 30' 
W. For the most part the pack was loose and a good deal decayed. It had not moved 
to the S. Comparatively open water from 15 miles south of the island and as far north 
as he could see; also open water to the west, but quantities of loose ice to the Ed. All 
well and in excellent spirits. A copy of this record was taken, and I placed in the same 
cairn, in a tin case, a record of our own proceedings and intentions. At 10. 30 p. m. I 
steamed northward. No ice in sight, weather very fine. Near the cairn was a good 
whaleboat and a quantity of provisions, all in fair condition, left by the ' 'Alert ' ' for the 
Polar ships in 1875. 

Passed Hakluyt Id. at 2 a. m. ; then a dense fog shut down, and I ran slowly until 
10.30 a. m. Aug. 30, when a magnificent break in the sky took place, revealing high 
snow-covered land on the port bow and nearly around to the port beam, a clear sea on 
the starboard bow, but high, peculiar-looking cliffs on the starboard quarter. 

From the outline sketches I readily recognize the crystal-palace cliffs on our quarter, 
and found that we were on the western side of Smith's Sound and within 12 miles of 
Cape Isabella; no ice in sight and but few bergs. 

I steered for Cape Alexander, which was reached at 1 p. m. , and up the coast towards 
Littleton Id. , verifying the points and bays of such remarkable interest as we went 
along. 

While the opposite coast had been entirely free from ice, this side was full of loose 
streams, the pieces thick and heavy. Still there was room enough for us, and I ran 
close into Littleton Id., and sent officers around on north side to search for records. 
Meanwhile, in company with the several staff" officers, I climbed to the crest of the Id. 
and took a look northward. 

No words of mine can describe the stern and rugged grandeur of this gateway to the 
pole as seen on a bright and beautiful day. The great northern pack, rough surfaced 
and of a yellow mer de glace color, stretched in a huge semicircle from Cape Ingersoll to 
Cape Sabine. The latter, Cape Hauks, and Cape Louis Napoleon were distinctly visible, 
and I am quite certain that a high, foggy-looking wall far in the NE. was Humboldt 
Glacier. 

Finding no cairns or records on the hills, and the party on the north side having found 
nothing, I was on the point of departing when a small cairn was discovered on the SW. 
end, and a small pile of coal. 

On opening this. Lieutenant Garlington's record was found, dated July 26th, 1883, 
stating that he, Lieut, Colwell, Dr. Harrison, 7 enlisted men U. S. A., 3 civilian em- 
ployfe, and 2 Eskimo's, arrived here at 5 p. m. of same date from a rocky inlet above 
Life-Boat Cove, in 2 whale boats, and ha^'ing dinghy in tow, dragging boats over ice and 
rocks. The ' ' Proteus ' ' was crushed in the ice between Cape Sabine and Cape Albert on 
the afternoon of the 23rd July. All saved. Much provision gotten overside of ship, but 
a great quantity went under before it could be removed a sufficient distance. A small 
depot of the stores saved was landed about 3 miles from Cape Sabine, around point 
towards Bache Id. A quantity of clothing was left on extreme point of Cape Sabine, 
and various articles, all poorly secured. Ice very heavy, and rapidly closing. He wa 
making for the south to communicate with this vessel. No mention was made in thi 
record of Captain Pike and crew of ' ' Proteus, ' ' and I was forced to conclude that they 
were still at Cape Sabine. As that point was in plain sight, and only 26 miles distant, 
and although my orders directed me under no circumstances to go north of Littleton 
Id. , yet I determined to do so, and make an effort to reach them. But before this could 
be done the fog began to creep down the sound, and by the time I was ready to start 
Cape Sabine was shut in. 

Ha^dng deposited my record in the cairn on SW. point near coal pile, I ran down 
to Pandora Harbor to await the lifting of the fog. Following Sir Allen Young's direc- 
tions I anchored in this snug harbor at 10 p. m. , seeing two cairns, one on Cape Kenrick 
the other on Cairn Point. 

On examination the former proved to be from Capt. Pike, stating that he with his 



180 ' APPENDIX. 

crew were in the harbor and were proceeding south, hoping to meet this vessel. The 
other was from Lt. Garlington, and stated that he had arrived here at 7.50 last evening 
(July 26) with his party, as mentioned above. Capt. Pike and crew of Proteus also in 
the harbor. When the Proteus was crushed Cape Sabine bore S. by E. i E. (mag. ) 6 
miles. He had 40 days full rations and would go south, keeping close in shore and call- 
ing at Gary Ids. to Cape York, or until he should meet some vessel. Hoped to meet this 
vessel or Swedish str. Sophia, supposed to be about Cape York. Weather since wreck 
foggy and rainy, delaying progress. Party all well and in good spirits. Would leave 
at 5 a. m to-morrow, 27th inst. Had been detained all day by fog. 

I immediately got under way, and passing Cape Alexander at midnight, ran the coast 
down to Cape Robertson, within a mile of the beach, closely scanning it for cairns, boats, 
or men. I was close enough in to see the Arctic hares among the rocks. Nothing was 
seen, however, and passing Cape Robertson I ran across Murchison Sound to a point 
about 5 miles E. of the N. end of Northumberland Id., passing close by a rock, just a 
wash, 2 miles S. by W. (true) from Cape Robertson. 

I skirted the N. shore of Northumberland Id., and then stood across to Hakluyt Id., 
which was closely examined. The western shore of this latter Id. was the only likely 
place for a landing. Seeing nothing, I rounded the southern end and stood down the 
western shore of Northumberland Id., passing the SW. point at 10 a.m. Here the fog 
shut in so thick that nothing could be seen, and bergs being numerous and not knowing 
the condition of Whale Sound, I laid close in under the cliffs until 6 p. m., when, the 
fog lifting, I stood across Whale Sound to a point 7 miles E. of Cape Parry. 

A small party of Eskimos living in their summer tents near the loomery on Northum- 
berland Id. was communicated with, but so far as could be made out they had seen no 
people in boats. 

Reaching the opposite shore at 8 p. m., I examined it carefully, passing Cape Parry 
within J mile and running a short distance S. of it; then the fog lifting to seaward, I 
got a bearing of Cary Ids. and stood for the SE. one of the group, which was reached at 
midnight. The records had not been disturbed, and I examined the cairn on top of the 
hill and took j\, copy of Sir Allen Yoiang's record, which had already been copied by Lt. 
Greely. 

Not being willing to leave this vicinity without further news of the retreating party, 
I ran back to Hakluyt Id. , close around the eastern shore, and then around the northern 
and eastern shores of Northumberland Id. Passed the SE. point of the latter at noon 
Aug. 5th, and stood across Whale Sound to a point 12 miles E. of Cape Parry, and ran 
close along shore to that point. 

I deposited a record on a low point 2 miles E. of that cape, and then rounding it, pro- 
ceeded southward, keeping close in shore and passing Hoppher Point, Fitzclarence Rock, 
and Three Sister Bees, arrived at a point 5 miles NW. of Saunders Id. Wolstenholm 
Id, in plain sight at 8 p. m. Booth Sound was full of ice, the floes unbroken. 

The ice now thickening up ahead, and the pack being in sight to the AVd. and extend- 
ing in towards Wolstenholm Id., I ran off shore WSW. to round the northern end; but 
having closed with the pack I could not see the northern limit, and the ice being too 
close, and not being willing to enter it at this time, the weather threatening, wind fresh 
from the north, and fog hanging low down, I stood back to Whale Sound, seeking an 
anchorage. 

The movement of the ice in this case and whence it came was unaccountable. Twenty 
hours before none was in sight from SE. Caiy Id., the top of which, 400 feet high, was 
visited by Lt. Gibson. When I bore away for Cape Parry, the grouj) was entirely sur- 
rounded and the edge of the pack was about 10 miles E. of it. 

I ran up Whale Sound for Bardin Bay, but missing it and seeing the passage between 
Northumberland and Herbert Ids. through the mist, I rounded the SE. point of the 
former, and anchored at 5.30 a. m. , Aug. 6th, in an indentation of the coast formed by a 
point of land and an old glacier extending out i mile. I immediately sent the boats out 
to reconnoitre, and, having found a good spot, moved the ship into 7 fathoms, soft bot- 
tom, far enough in to be out of the stream of ice moving with the tides. I determined 
to remain here a few days to await the moving off shore of the ice or a loosening ap of 
the pack so I could get through. 

The same evening a party of officers visiting the shore found the remains of a camp 
apparently a week old. Tin cans, known to have been part of the equipment of the 
relief party, were picked up, matches Avere lying about, a fire-place and partially burnt 
stick, just above the beach, and a little further back stones in the shape of a 12-foot 
square, where a tent had without doubt been pitched. Footmarks were numerous, some 
having high heels. 

On the following day, at a point in the cove one mile distant from the camp just de- 
scribed, the remains of another camping place were found. An iron pot, 3 or 4 lbs. of 
bread, the skin of an Arctic hare, and one or two gull heads were lying about; also an 



APPENDIX. 181 

old pair of trousers. I concluded that the former was the camp of the relief party, and 
the latter that of Capt. Pike and crew of the Proteus. • 

Being now certain that the boats were S. of us, it only remained to proceed there our- 
selves as soon as the state of the ice would permit. 

I sent Lt. Gibson and the ice-pilot to the top of the mountain S. of us, 1,400 high. 
They reported the Gary Ids. in sight, and the pack broken up and moved to the Wd. 
But a high barometer induced me to remain, and that night it began to blow from SW., 
and continued so for 24 hours with thick rainy weather. 

August 9th the Ex. officer and ice-pilot again climbed the mountain to the Sd., and 
reported that Whale Sound was closed by the pack, but the passage north was clear, 
also a water sky to the Sd. Having built a cairn, and deposited a record, I got under 
way at 3 p. m., and rounding the N. end of Northumberland Id., and passed out between 
that and Hakluyt Id. , and stood southward to continue the search. 

At 10 p. m. the ijack was reached, loose and broken, extending NW. and SE. so 
far as could be seen. The weather shut in thick, and it began to snow. Not wishing 
to enter the ice unless the weather was clear, I steamed around in circle for a while, when, 
catching a glympse of SE. Carey Id., I concluded to make another examination of it. 
Ean close in to the cove and fired two guns, getting no response. Then seeing an open- 
ing in the pack with clear water to the Sd. , I ran through, and was soon able to head 
for Cape York, the pack continuing in sight on our port hand all the way. 

The ice remained about the land in the vicinity of that Cape very much as we found it 
eight days before, except that more large floes were visible. Long tongues ran out 
several miles, continually edging us olf to the Southward Sd. Near Cape Dudley Digges 
I ran close in, but could see no opening; the ice was packed close and reached to the 
land 20 miles distant. The weather thickened and fog settled down, aud I caught a 
glimpse through a break of heavy pack outside of me to the SW. 

At noon of this day, having ice in all directions except SE., and unable to see but a 
short distance in that direction, the land being unapproachable, our supply of coal 
greatly diminished, the imprudence of remaining in this vicinity became sufficiently 
obvious and I bore up for Upernavik, which was reached Aug. 12th, . having thick, 
rough weather during the passage. The ship was moored in Danish Harbor and the 
news communicated to Gov. Elborg, who stated his wish to do all in his power. I char- 
tered one of the launches and sent 15 days' rations for 37 men to Yessuissak, and Gov. 
Elberg directed the head man at that place to send his whale-boat with an Eskimo crew 
to Cape Shackleton to await the arrival of the boats. 

After mature consideration, Aug. 14th, I hauled fires and determined to remain here 
until the boats arrived or until the season was well advanced, as this was the most 
northern point where I could anchor with any degree of security, and very little of that. 
The ship was moored in the same cove where the Juniata laid with her head north and 
stern held to the rocks by hawsers and stream cable. 

The crew was sent ashore for a run and dance with the Esquimau girls, which they 
enjoyed hugely. Target practice was carried on. The officers went out shooting. The 
naturalists devoted themselves to their specialties, and under the direction of the exec- 
utive officer, engineering works on shore procured us a supply of fresh water. 

While lying here we were much annoyed by small bergs drifting into the harbor, oc- 
casionally capsizing and dancing up and down under our bows, threatening to take our 
head booms out, midnight being generally the time selected for the performance. These 
were either towed out by the boats or hove up at high water by a capstan on shore. 
Some of them were quite unmanageable. The chief danger from them was the liability 
in their gyrations of punching a hole in the vessel with their sharp projecting tongues. 

Aug. 22d, the short summer of this high latitude being at an end, the weather hav- 
ing changed, vegetation having become brown and withered, the birds having departed 
with their young, ice and frost forming each night, the intervals of good weather becom- 
ing rarer, the autumn gales being liable to set in at any time, and knowing that the first 
one of any severity would put the ship on the rocks, as the only holding ground was 
bare rock, feeling that I was incurring great risk, increasing daily by remaining longer, 
I got under way and proceeded to the Kudlisit coal clifls in Waigat Straits. 

Gov. Elborg stated that if the boats arrived in season he would deck over his large 
launch and give her to Lt. Garlington to come down to Disco, provided he could arrive 
by the middle of September. He also stated his ability and willingness to provide dur- 
ing the winter for the party, should they arrive too late to go south. 

I remained four days at the coal cliffs, and with much labor and difficulty succeeded 
in getting on board about 50 tons, constantly annoyed by small bergs, which obliged me 
to get under way on three occasions, and the last night to remain under way until the 
ice movement had ceased. 

Godhaven was reached Aug. 28th, and the ship moored and fires hauled. 

On the morning of Aug. 31st a letter arrived by Kayak from Lt. J. C. Colwell, U. S. 



182 ^ APPENDIX 

N. , dated Noursoak, Aug. 27th, stating that he had arrived at that point in a launch 
from Upernavik, having separated from the other boats at Cape York under orders from 
Lt. Garlington, and describing the condition of matters at that time. 

At 9 a. m. the launch, with Lt. Colwell, six men, and an Eskimo, arrived in the har- 
bor, and the crew came on board. They had been 39 days in an open boat and traveled 
about 900 miles, suffering great hardships in the passage across Melville Bay ; yet they 
looked well and hearty, although somewhat thin and weatherbeaten. 

Thinking there was a fair chance of the other boats havmg arrived, although from Lt. 
Colwell's account there were serious doubts, and stopping only long enough to take in 
6 tons of coal kindly given by the inspector, I sailed the same afternoon for Upernavik 
with the launch in tow, and having fogs and head winds, arrived on the morning of 
Sept. 20th, and soon had the pleasure of welcoming on board Lt. Garlington with the 
Greeley relief party and Capt. Pike, with crew of Proteus ; all well except Dr. Harrison, 
whose feet had given out. 

Gov. Elborg could only give me six tons of coal, and having received it I sailed at 
3.30 p. m. for St. John's. 

The ship was put under sail, and with strong northerly and northwesterly winds and 
rough seas, I reached a point 250 miles from port on the llth inst. The wind then fail- 
ing, steam was raised, and the vessel anchored in St. John's at 10 a. m., Sept. 13th. 

Off Cape Farewell, Henry Wilson, G. M. , died of apoplexy and was buried. 

The customary courtesies were exchanged with the Danish officials at the various 
ports visited, but the generous hospitality of Gov Elborg, of Uperna\'ik, deserves more 
than a passing notice. Although in poor health, j''et his interest in all relating to the 
expedition and his desire to do all possible for the shipwrecked people was keen. 

During the cruise, which was a very harassing one, I received every assistance from 
the officers, and especially from Lt. W. C. Gibson, the Ex. officer, who was indefatiga- 
ble in his labors to promote the efficiency and welfare of the vessel. 

The energy, courage, and professional skill shown by Lt. J. C. Colwell deserves the 
attention of the Dept. Having separated by order from the other boats at Cape York, 
he took the first open lead to the SE. , intending to steer direct to Upernavik, but a 
westerly gale coming on he ran before it for 20 hours, snowing heavily, and his crew 
much exhausted from fatigue and cold. This was immediately followed hj a gale from 
SE. which was rode out under lee of an iceberg. Reaching Upernavik but a few hours 
after the departure of this vessel, and stopping only long enough to dry his clothing and 
shift into another boat, he pursued his way southward, reaching Godhaven as stated 
above. 

The holding-ground at the Kudlisit coal cliffs, is bad, and the anchorage open and 
insecure. Icebergs of all sizes and in vast numbers are continually passing up and down 
the straits, and a constant watch is required to keep the smaller ones clear from the 
ship. A breeze anywhere from ESE. to NNW. (true) brings the stream of ice over to 
this shore, and it is impossible to remain at anchor. Sometimes, apparently with no 
reason, a stream of small bergs will appeal? and cause the greatest annoyance. 

The first visit we made coal was taken from a vein cropping out from under the cliff 
to near high- water mark, much worn and weather-stained and scarcely having the 
appearance of coal. Yet it burned well, though very quickly, the bulk used being about 
in proportion of 2} to 1 of anthracite. This vein was worked out. 

On our second visit a seam had to be opened about 30 feet up the cliff, and it took one 
working day and portions of a sesond and third days to clear away the dirt and rubbish 
so that the coal could be got at handily and without danger to the men. 

So long as the sea remains smooth there is no difficulty in getting the coal off, but a 
moderate breeze from SE. , which was the prevailing wind during our stay, sends a 
swell on the beach which makes it a wet and difficult business for the boats, the beach 
of gravel and boulders being a bad one. 

The remarkable passage made by this vessel from Upernavik to Littleton Id. has no 
precedent. Both duty and inclination urged us onward. Difficulties were smoothed 
away, the ice opened up before us and fine weather prevailed to a fair degree, so that we 
began to think that Arctic cruising had been somewhat exaggerated, but the terrible 
news which met us on our arrival, the obstacles to our progress southward, and the abso- 
lute necessity for giving up the search, convinced me that this frozen region is not to be 
trifled with and that the stern realities which constantly confront one are only to be en- 
countered by the fullest and most complete equipment. 

Sir Allen Young, one of the highest living authorities on Arctic matters, says, "All 
objects connected with Arctic navigation must necessarily be very speculative, and it is 
out of all human foresight to anticipate events in those regions. ' ' 

The truth of this we have experienced to its fullest extent, and I earnestly represent 
to the Dept. the inadvisability of again sending a vessel north of New Foundland unless 
built and equipped to encounter heavy ice, and provisioned and clothed to spend an 



APPENDIX. 183 

Arctic winter. From the latitude of Cape Farewell northward, it is impossible to say- 
where the ice will be met, and thick weather prevails to such an extent that with the 
utmost care a vessel may tjecome involved. 

Had the Yantic been of this description there was nothing to prevent my forcing a 
passage in to the fast ice about Cape York and remaining there, or of maintaining our 
position until the ice opened or moved off shore. 

I purposely put this vessel on several occasions into the edge of the pack to get some 
idea of how she would behave, and the result was not encouraging. Damage to screw^ 
rudder, and rudder-post was greatly to be feared. All vessels which cruise in these 
waters carry heavy iron two-bladed lifting screws, as well as spare ones and a spare 
rudder. -4^ 

In conclusion, I have to state that I have made every effort to carry out both the spirit 
and letter of my orders, and I trust this record of an Arctic cruise will meet vdth the 
approbation of the Dept. Originals, and copies where original was left of the various 
records found, are appended marked A, B, C, &c. , and a track chart is also enclosed. 
Very respectfully, 

FRANK WILDES, 
Commander, U. S. N. 



(248.) 

A. — Copy of a record found on 8. E. Cary Is. by U. S. S. Yantic, Aug. 2nd, 1883. 

U. S. Relief Expedition, 
S. E. Cary Is., 21st July, 1883. 
Arrived at this island 3 p. m. to-day, having steamed through the pack since 5.30 a. m., 
18th inst., lat. 73° 40^ N., long. 61° 30^ W., taking advantage of the lanes of water & 
rotten ice, breaking through the latter without difficulty. For the most part the pack 
was loose, and a good deal decayed by sun and warm currents. It had not moved to the 
south, evidencing absence of northerly winds this season. Comparatively open water 
from 15 miles south of the island, and as far north as we can see; also open to the west, 
but quantities of loose ice to the eastward. From this point I will steer for Hakluyt 
Island, and then leave a record on its most accessible point, if I can make a landing 
without difficulty; thence I will go to Littleton Island,- leave a record, then proceed 
north. All well and in excellent spirits. Fine sport on the way up — 3 polar bears 
killed, 3 seals — could have killed any number but for delay in getting them on board — 
one walrus shot, but lost in the water. 
Res'py, 
(Signed) E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lt. 7th U. S. Cav., Comvi'dg Expedition, 
Frank Wildes, 
Comdi. U. 8. N. 



(249.) 

B. — Original record found an Cairn Pt., Pandora Harbor, by U. 8. 8. Yantic, Aug. 3d, 1883, 
Frank Wildes, Comdi. U. 8. N. 

Str. "Proteus." U.S. Relief Expedition, 

22nd July, 1883. 

At 6 a. m. we are rounding Cape Alexander, and will enter Pandora Harbor to leave 
this record. No ice met between C-ary Islands and this point, and none to be seen to 
the north from "Crow Nest" with the aid of a powerful telescope. Weather perfect; 
if it continues I will go directly north and not stop at Littleton Island to leave record, 
for it takes but a very short time to change the aspect in these regions. 
Respectfully, 

E. a. GARLINGTON, 
^Ist Lieut, of U. 8. Cav. & A. 8. 0., Commanding. 



1 84 APPENDIX. 



(250.) 

C. — Original record found on S. W. end of Littleton Island by U. S. S. Yantic, Aug. 3d, 
1883, Frank Wildes, Comdi. U. S. N. 

26th July, 1883. 

My party, consisting of Lt. Colwell, U. S. Navy, Dr. J. S. Harrison, seven enlisted men 
U. S. Army, three civilian employes, and two Eskimo, arrived here at 5 p. m. to-day 
from a rocky inlet above Life-boat Cove in two whale-boats, and having dingy in tow. 
Very thick fog on way over, and sea quite rough. Boats behaved admirably, consider- 
ing the strain to which they have been put — dragging them over the floe, rocks, &c. 

This JDarty was in steamer Proteus, of St. John, Newfoundland, chartered by U. S. 
Gov., going to the relief of Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. S. Army, at Lady Franklin Bay, 
Grinnell Land. The steamer was crushed in the ice between Cape Sabine and Cape 
Albert, Bache Island, on the afternoon of the 23d instant. All saved. Much provisions 
gotten over side of ship, but a great quantity went under before it could be removed a 
sufficient distance from ship for safety. 500 pounds bread, sleeping-bags, and assorted 
subsistence stores were landed from floe about three miles from Cape Sabine around 
point toward Bache Island. There is also a cache, made last year, along same shore. 
The depot was secured as well as possible. Ice was rapidly closing, heavy, &c. A 
quantity of clothing was left on extreme point of Cape Sabine, and one barrel beef, all 
poorly secured for same reason as above. I am making for the south to communicate 
with U. S. steamer Yantic, which is endeavoring to get up. Every effort will be made 
to come north at once for the Greely party. The Yantic cannot come into ice, and she 
has crew of 146, so will have to get another ship. All will be done to get as far north 
as possible before the season closes. Ice thick and heavy. Calm to-day, and I am in 
great hurry to take advantage of it and tide. 

E. A. GARLINGTON. 
1 U. S. Cav., Comd'g. 



(251.^ 



D. — Original record found on Vairn Pt., Pandora Harbor, by U. S. S. Yantic, Aug. 3rd, 1883, 
Frank Wildes, Comdi. U. S. N. 

U. S. Relief Expedition, 

Pandora Harbor, 27th July, 1883. 
Arrived here at 7. 50 last evening with two whale-boats and one dingy in tow, Lieut. 
J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy, Dr. J. S. Harrison, seA^en enlisted men U. S. A., three civilian 
employes, and two Eskimo & self composing party. Capt. Pike, str. Proteus, and his 
crew (22 men) also in this harbor. 

The Proteus was crushed in the ice about 6 miles from Cape Sabine, May, bearing 
from Sabine about S. 6 E. 1 E., on the afternoon of the 23d instant. All saved. 

I have forty days' full rations for my party; will go south, keeping close into shore 
as possible and calling at Carey Islands, to Cape York, or until I meet some vessel ; hope 
to meet U. S. S. Yantic or the Swedish str. Sophia, which should be about Cape York. 
Weather since wreck has been foggy and at times some rain, delaying progress very 
much. Party all well and in good spirits. 

Will leave here at 5 a. m. to-morrow — detained all day by fog. 

E. A. GARLINGTON. 

1 Lieut., 7 Cav., Comer g. 



(252.) 

E. — Copy of a record found on Cape Kennit, Pandora Harbor, by U. S. S. Yantic, Aug. 3rd, 

1883. 

S. S. Proteus crushed with ice and sunk July 23rd. Crew and relief party gone south. 
Purpose calling at Hakluyt Is., Cape Parry, Cary Is., & coast along south if don't meet 
U. S. ship Yantic. 

(Signed) RICHARD PIKE, 

Master, S. S. Porteus. 
Feank Wildes, 

Comdi. U. S. N. 



APPENDIX. .1 S5 



(253.) 

F. — Copy of record found in cairn on top of Southeast Cary Is. by U. S. S. Yantic, Aug. 5th, 

1883. 

International Polar Ex'n to Lady Franklin Bay, fitted out by War Department, under 
the supervision of Gen. W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Office, U. S. Army, and com- 
manded by 1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, 5th Cav., A. S. 0. & Asst. 

Left in U. S. Proteus, island of Upernavik, 7 p. m. July 29, 1881, and at 7 a. m. 
July 31st stopped by a heavy fog about six miles S., of land supposed to be Cape York. 
Middle passage taken, and found to be entirely unobstructed by ice. All well. This 
notice deposited Aug. 1st, 1881. 

(Sgn.) OCTAVIUS PARY, 

A. A. S. U. S. A. 
H. E. W. F. KISLINGBURY, 

M. P. 

This is a true copy of a document found in the cairn, with a letter addressed to Cap- 
tain Nares. They will be sent to the English Admiralty. 

(Signed,) O. PARY, 

A. A. S., U. S. A. 
FRED. F. KISLINGBURY, 
2nd Lieut. 1st Inft. U. S. A., Act. Sig. Of. U. S. Int. Polar Ex'n. 

The Pandora sailed from Cowes on her voyage to the Arctic May 31st, and Plymouth 
June 2nd, 1876, under admiralty instructions to communicate with depots of polar ships 
at and near entrance to Smith's Sound. 

Passed Cape Farewell June 24th; left Godhavn July 11, Kudlisit July 15th, and 
Upernavik July 19; beset in Melville Bay on the 24th July; escaped from the pack on 
the 29th July; experienced a violent storm from the S. E. (true) yesterday, the 31 July. 
Pandora will proceed northward toward Littleton Is. or Gale Pt. in hopes of obtaining 
some information from H. M. ships Alert and Discovery. The winds during the last 
ten days have been very strong from S. W. to S. E. (true), with constant thick weather 
and snow, and the main pack in which we were beset appears to be drawn tight into 
Melville Bay, leaving a large body of open water to the Sd. in an ENE. and WSW. 
direction. The Pandora records Sept., '75, will be found in the cairn on top of this 
island, where they have been deposited for the information of the polar ships. 

The Pandora has now on board letters and despatches for the polar ships, and will en- 
deavor to leave them at one of the depots at the entrance to Smith's Sound. The let- 
ters of last year will be taken on for the NW. island if the weather permits; bat from 
present appearances it is extremely improbable that a landing can be effected on that 
island. 

(Signed) ALLEN YOUNG. 

Frank Wildes, Comdi. U. S. N. 



(254.) 

G. — Copyof record found incairnontopof S. E. Cary Islandhy U. S.S. Yantic, Aug. 5th, 1883. 

Caien on S. E. Cary Island, 

Aug. 1st, 1876. 
I have this day inspected the A depot left on this island by H. M. ships Alert and 
Discovery and found everything apparently undisturbed and in good condition. The 
record tin in the boat was not opened, as I supposed it would not contain more informa- 
tion than was found in this cairn by the Pandora last year. There were, in all, 31 casks 
and 12 cases, besides the tins of preserved meats, which were not counted. 

The record left by the Pandora last year has apparently not beeus disturbed, so will be 
placed in the same tin as this. 

(Signed) CHARLES A. ARBUTHNOT, 

Lt. B. N. 
Frank Wildes, 

Com'dW U. S. N. 



186 APPENDIX. 



4778 B.— War Dep't 3, 1883. 

United States of Ameeica. 

Navy Depaktment, 
Washington, D. C, November 12, 1883. 
Pursuant to section 882 of the Revised Statutes, I hereby certify that the annexed are 
true copies of papers on record in this Department. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the Navy 
Department of the United States to be affixed, at the city of Washington, this twelfth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty -three, 
and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth. 

[SEAL.] ED. T. NICHOLS, 

Acting Secretary of the Navy. 

(255.) • 

Navy Department, 
Washington, October 10, 1883. 
To Commander Wildes, 

Commanding U. 8. 8. Yantic, Neiv York. 

Sir: Your report from St. John's, Newfoundland, dated September 17, 1883, of your 
cruise in the Yantic to the west coast of Greenland as a reserve ship for the Greely re- 
lief expedition was duly received and has been carefully considered. 

The zeal, energy, and general good conduct of yourself as commanding officer, and of 
all the naval officers connected with the relief expedition, are not doubtful, and call for 
the sincere commendation of the Department; but the failure of the expedition to ac- 
complish anything for the relief of Lieutenant Greely and his party, who are therefore 
forced, if now living, to contend with the hardships and perils of a third Arctic winter, 
arouses the reasonable inquiry : Did every member of the relief expedition, whether offi- 
cer, seaman, soldier, or civilian, do his utmost to accomplish success and to succor and 
rescue the unfortunate explorers for whom he went in search ? It is probable that the 
Greely party will be saved in spite of the failure you have recorded. It is possible it 
might have been lost, notwithstanding the wisest and most energetically conducted 
efforts for its relief But those to whom was committed the recent expedition must to- 
day be judged upon the hypothesis that their success would have saved the ice-bound 
band, and that their failure will lead to its destruction. 

Nothing which good judgment, fidelity, persistency, and. courage on the part of any 
naval officer might have accomplished can have been omitted without the condemnation 
of the Navy Department and of the whole anxious American people. 

Your instructions, under date of June 9th, were to ' ' proceed to the northward through 
Davis Straits in company with the steamer Proteus, if practicable, ' ' but not to go beyond 
Littleton Island. It appears that the ' ' Yantic ' ' and Proteus were together at Disko 
Island on July 15th, when the Proteus sailed northward, but that the Yantic did not 
finally leave that island until July 26th. The Proteus reached Carey Island July 21st, 
the Yantic not until August 2d. The Proteus passed Littleton Island July 22d, and was 
crushed in the ice July 23d. The Yantic did not reach Littleton Island until August 3d. 

Between July 23d and August 3d, namely, on July 26th and 28th, Lieutenant Gar- 
lington and the whole party of the Proteus had come to Littleton Island and Pandora 
Harbor, and not finding the Yantic, had continued to the south in open boats in search 
of her, notwithstanding the orders of the War Department, given for such a contingency, 
to land with their stores at or near Life-Boat Cove, on Littleton Island, and to prepare 
for remaining until next year. 

Had the Yantic, however, been at Littleton Island July 28th, instead of being twelve 
days behind the Proteus, Lieutenant Garlington's relief party would have remained 
at that point with ample supplies, keeping ' ' their telescopes on Cape Sabine and the 
land to the northward," and waiting for Lieutenant Greely, whose orders required 
him to endeavor to reach that vicinity not later than September, 1883, and who would 
not then have found awaiting him, as is now the case, if he has successfully obeyed his 
orders, neither house nor provisions, but only the record of the complete failure of the 
mission of the Proteus and the Yantic. 

It does not, therefore, in the present aspect of the facts, seem to the Department that 
the Yantic properly fulfilled her duty as a tender to the Proteus, with which she had 
been ordered to proceed in company, while keeping twelve days behind her, and thereby 
defeating the object of the expedition. 

You will make such full explanation on this point as you are able. 

Your attention is also called to another point. You had been furnished with copies 
of the instructions to Lieutenant Garlington, and were aware that he was ordered, in the 



APPENDIX. 187 

event of the failure of the Proteus to reach Lady Franklin Bay, to establish the relief 
station at Littleton Island, and that Lieutenant Greely would endeavor to reach that 
point in September, expecting there to find a relief party, a house, fuel, and provisions. 
You were at Littleton Island on August 3d, and learned that the Proteus had been 
crushed and that Lieutenant Garlington and his whole party had gone south, leaving 
nothing for Greely at Littleton Island. You could have readily landed there provision 
and supplies, but omitted to do so. 

You will please explain this omission, and will furnish the Department a schedule in 
detail of the provisions of all kinds which you then had on board the Yantic and a sim- 
ilar schedule of those you had on board when you arrived at Sf. John's on September 
13.th. 

In the instructions of the War Department to Lieutenant Garlington, dated June 4, 
1883, is the follomng clause: "A 'ship of the U. S. Navy, the Yantic, will accompany 
you as far as Littleton Island, rendering you such aid as may become necessary and as 
may be determined by the captain of that ship and yourself when on the spot. ' ' 

You will inform the Department whether or not you had knowledge of this clause. 

Enclosed you will also find a copy of a memorandum marked ' ' Enclosure 4, ' ' con- 
taining instructions for the guidance of the naval tender and the Proteus; and you will 
inform the Department whether during your voyage these or any such instructions were 
seen by you or were orally conununicat«d to you. 
Very respectfully, 

WM. E. CHANDLER, 

Secretary of the Navy. 



(256.) 



U. S. S. Yantic, 3d bate, 

Navy-Yard, N. ¥., Oct. 16, 1883. 
Hon. W. E. Chandler, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C: 

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of the Department's letter of the 10th inst.. 
requesting information on certain points in connection with the late cruise of this vessel 
to the Arctic Seas. 

My orders directed me to " proceed to the northward through Da^is' Straits, in com- 
pany with the ' Proteus, ' if practicable, * * * which ship being fitted for cruis- 
ing in the ice will probably take advantage of opportunities to reach her destination, 
which you would not feel authorized in taking in the Yantic. * * * You will 
take on board at St. John's all the coal that you can safely carry below and on deck, as 
it is very desirable that you reach your destination with an ample supply still remaining 
for use. It may be possible to obtain a small supply of coal on the coast of Greenland, 
but this cannot be relied on. ' ' 

I sailed from St. John's with 197 tons of coal below and on deck, the Proteus car- 
ried between 500 and 600 tons. The Yantic steaming with six (6) fires makes an average 
speed of 65 to 7 knots per hour in smooth water. The Proteus steaming at full speed 
(which Captain Pike told me he used) made about Sh to 9 knots per hour. On the run 
to Godhaven, under sail alone, I kept well to the eastward to avoid the Labrador ice. 
The Proteus, some 60 miles west of our track, under steam, passed through a stream of 
ice for 5 hours which was of a heavier nature than they are accustomed to meet on that 
coast, and which her ofi&cers stated could not have been penetrated by the Yantic. 

The boilers of this vessel were in an unreliable condition when she was ordered to fit 
for this northern cruise. Repairs were pushed night and day to hasten her departure, 
but not being finished on sailing day, the material for completing the work was put on 
board. Repairs were continued in St. John's, but on our passage to Godhaven they 
were discontinued, as it was desirable to have steam power ready to use in case of ne- 
cessity. Having arrived at Godhaven, and knowing that from thence northward our 
main dependence would be on the engines, I determined to get the boilers in fair con- 
dition before leaving. This took six (6) days. One (1) day was then taken to get coal 
from the brig Peru, which had just arrived. Then thick, stormy weather set in, which 
delayed our departure (2) two days. 

I arrived in Godhaven with 170 tons of coal. In these narrow seas I thought the ship 
able to carry more than when she left St. John's, and deemed it prudent for future opera- 
tions to provide as much as possible. For this purpose I went to Rittenbank, where 20 
tons were procured, and thence to Kudliset, where the supply was completed. Our 
bunkers and decks were then full, and, being now as well prepared as I was able, July 
25th we proceeded northward. 

My instructions also stated that, ' 'You will rely to a certain extent upon the infor- 
mation which is given you by the Danish authorities at Disco and Upemavik as to the 



. /^ 



188 APPENDIX. 

probable movements of ice, &c. , &c. ' ' I visited Upernavik to obtain this information, 
arriving at 10 p. m., July 25tli. By morning a dense fog had set in, and continued vnth 
slight intermissions until the 31st, vfhen it cleared and I proceeded to sea. 

No time was lost and no unnecessary delay was made at any point. The Proteus, 
■carrying a large supply of coal and steaming at full speed, had only to delay to obtain 
the stores left at Godhaven last year and a native dog-driver from Disco Fiord. She 
then went north without stopping. Had I sailed from Grodhaven at the same time as 
the Proteus, besides being unable to keep up with her, I should have arrived at Little- 
ton Island, 1,000 miles distant, with my coal supply reduced to about 75 tons and the 
boilers in a leaky, precarious condition. (This vessel burns with six (6) fires, economi- 
cal steaming, 13 tons per day, besides an average of one (1) ton per day for condensing 
and galley. ) This is without taking into account any detention from thick weather or 
ice, which cannot be counted on, as the normal condition of this region appears to be 
fog. 

The body of water known as Blelville Bay is so little understood generally that a 
short description inay not be out of place here. From Cape Shackleton, which may be 
regarded as the southern point, the coast trends northerly 150 miles to Cape Walker, 
thence westerly 150 miles to Cape Dudley Diggs. The coast line is one vast glacier, 
the rocky headlands only projecting, which constantly discharges multitudes of icebergs, 
many of enormovrs size. These, drifting to the westwacd and grounding in the shoal 
water south of Cape York, frequently hang up for a whole season the vast fields of ice 
which accumulate during the winter. When not so hung by bergs the ' ' main ' ' or 
"middle" pack, which is out of the influence of the current from Smith's Sound to 
Davis' Straits, drifts back and forth with the prevailing winds, at times leaving open 
water between it and the fast ice and again closing. 

The North Star was caught in August, '49, and luckily broke out after "hairbreadth 
escapes ' ' on 25th Sept. , and succeeded in getting into Wolstenholm Sound, where she 
wintered. The first Grinnell Expedition in '55 was caught in the pack early in July 
and not released until Aug. 15th. In '57 the Fox was caught south of Cape York and 
drifted all winter in the pack. In '75 the Alert and Discovery met the pack just out- 
side the Brown Is's, near Upernavik, and were 34 hours forcing their way through. On 
the 22nd July, '76, the Pandora was beset for eight days in the pack, and only succeeded 
by great exertions in freeing herself, having been in imminent danger of being crushed. 
Many whale-ships have been lost in this bay. During one year the governor of Uper- 
navik states that he had 200 men thrown on his bounty, whose ships had been crushed in the 
ice. (See proceedings U. S. Naval Institute, Dec. 11th, 1873.) Commander Markham, 
second in command of the Alert, an Arctic navigator of no mean repute, says: "The 
dangers connected with a passage through Melville Bay are now so well known to all 
who have taken any interest in Arctic affairs, or who have devoted any time to the 
perusal of Arctic literature, that it is needless for me either to explain or dwell upon 
them at any length. Many a well-equipped ship has been caught in the fatal embrace 
of this bay. What tales of woe and disaster could its icy waters unfold, ' ' &c. , &c. 

Capt. Ct. S. Nares, commanding the British polar expedition of 1875-'6, having been 
34 hours in the middle pack, says: "Although we made so successful a voyage through 
a locality justly dreaded by experienced ice navigators, the conclusion must not be has- 
tily arrived at that a similar passage can always be commanded. Had a strong breeze 
set in whilst we were among the ice, we should have been beset in the pack and at the 
very least delayed several days. ' ' 

In view of these facts, I should have felt justified in delaying to a still later date the 
attempt to cross Melville Bay, or even not making the attempt at all. But I did not 
delay one moment after I considered my ship prepared and the weather had cleared, but 
pushed across to Cape York, feeling certain from the thick, foggy weather, raw, chilly air, 
flurries of snow, and smooth sea, that the middle pack was not far distant. 

Pandora Harbor was reached six days after the boats had gone south. 

To conclude this part, I did not intend to run the vessel under my command in the 
haphazard, happy-go-lucky fashion which finally brought the Proteus to grief, but to 
make sure, so far as possible, of every step which I took. 

Had the Proteus been ordered to keep company with the Yantic it would have been 
vastly better for all concerned. 

I sailed from New York, having a ship's company of 124 enlisted men and 20 officers, 
with 8 months' provisions for 80 men on board ; every available space was utilized for 
there stowage. On our passage northward the usual ration was found insufficient, and 
120 rations were issued. On learning of the loss of the Proteus I considered that my 
first and paramount duty was to i^ick up the boats, which contained 37 men. Having 
done that, it would be time to consider what next. I had no doubt that I should do 
this, and hoped to find them at the Cary Is's, or, failing there, somewhere between Cape 
Parry and Cape Athol. Should they have reached and entered the ice of Melville Bay, 



APPENDIX. 



189 



I thought it impossible to tell when they would appear. Dr. Kane took 80 days to go 
over the same ground. This would necessitate my remaining very late in the season, as 
it was quite out of the question to return home without them. But the pack prevented 
my reaching Cape Athol, and having worked through, on Aug. 9th various fruitless at- 
tempts were made to find an opening between Cape Dudley Diggs and Cape York. On 
the 10th heavy pack appeared to the s'west, the wind was n'east, and the ice mo\ing off- 
shore down on us; there was ice behind us preventing our return northward. I had no 
alternative but to proceed to Upernavik. 

In taking these steps I was governed by what I have previously stated in regard to 
the possibilities of Melville Bay and the probabilities of our being beset in the pack. 
Once involved in ice, I knew we would be helpless and our imprisonment of indefinite dura- 
tion. I had no fears for Lt. Greely, who, living in a region reported well stocked with game, 
had economised his pro^^sions. Should he reach Littleton Is., besides the provisions on. 
the west coast, the rocks and waters between that island and the mainland abound in 
walrus, the stench from their ordure fouling the air for a long distance. On the neigh- 
boring mainland reindeer are reported numerous. On the S. E. Cary Island there is a 
cache of six (6) months' provisions for twenty (20) men lonown to Lt. Greely, who landed- 
there. They would have to live Esquimau fashion, but Dr. Kane and Lt. Schwatka 
did that. 

The clause of Lt. Garlington's instructions mentioned on the last page of the Dept's- 
letter was known to me. 

The memorandum marked "Enclosure 4," with no date or signature, which I pre- 
sume are the "supplementary instructions" so often spoken of, was never heard of by 
me until our arrival in St. John's nor seen until now. The schedules of provisions oil 
hand Aug. 3rd and Sept. 15th are enclosed as directed. 

In conclusion I beg to state that I am prepared to shoulder all the responsibility which 
properly belongs to me, and if this statement is not satisfactory and there still remain 
doubts in the Department that I have not done my duty as an oifieer of the United States^ 
Navy, I respectfully request that a court of inquiry may be ordered on my conduct, as I 
do not wish to rest under the imputation that I have heedlessly and unnecessarily left. 
Lt. Greely and party to the possibility of perishing by starvation. 
I am, sir, your ob't servant, 



Commandant's Office, Navy- Yard, New Yoek. 
Forwarded Oct. 17th, 1883. 



FEANK WILDES, 
Commander, U. S. N. 



R. W. MEADE, 

Captain commanding. 



Provisions on hand Aug. 3, 1883. 



Quantities. 



7, 000 pounds , 

5, 500 pounds . 

6, 000 pounds . 

2,500 pounds . 

2, 000 pounds . 

300 pounds . 

140 pounds . 

750 pounds . 

3, 500 pounds . 

47 pounds . 

1, 800 pounds . 

6.30 pounds . 

360 gallons.. 

40 gallons.. 

40 gallons.. 

pounds . 

pounds . 

pounds . 

700 pounds ., 



Articles. 



Bread 

Salt beef 

Pork 

Preserved meat 

Flour 

Rice 

Dried fruit 

Pickles 

Sugar 

Tea 

Coffee 

Butter 

Beans 

Molasses 

Vinegar 

Fresh beef 

Fresh vegetables .... 

Fresh bread 

Preserved tomatoes 

Total amount.. 



Ration 
price. 



0.05 cts. 
.08 cts. 
.12 cts. 
. 24 cts. 
.04 cts. 
.09 cts. 
.12 cts. 
.12 cts. 
.13 cts. 
. 96 cts. 
. 32 cts. 
. 40 cts. 
. 30 cts. 
. 60 cts. 
. 20 cts. 

cts. 

cts. 

cts. 

cts. 



Cost. 



Dolls. Cts, 



Approved: 



V. S. Navy, Commanding Officer. 



190 



APPENDIX. 



Keceived, , 188-, from the caterers of the officers' messes, dollars and 

cents, in payment for the above provisions. 

$ 07 

C. M. EAY, 
P. A. Paymaster, U. 8. Navy. 

(Indorsed:) Expenditure voucher No. , for provisions: $ , quarter, 

188-. 

Issues to officers' messes for cash. 

II. S. ship . 

Pay , U. S. Navy. 

One copy of this invoice to be forwarded to the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing 
with the final quarterly return of provisions, and the other retained by the pay-officer 
for reference. 



Provisions on hand September- 15, 1883. 



Quantities. 


Articles. 


Ration 
price. 


Cost. 


Dolls. 


cts. 


4,000 pounds 

4,500 pounds 

4,640 pounds 

1,500 pounds 

400 pounds 

175 pounds 

140 pounds 

675 pounds 

2,400 pounds 


Bread 


$0.05 cts. 
. 08 cts. 
. 12 cts. 
.24 cts. 
.04 cts. 
.09 cts. 
. 12 cts. 
.12 cts. 
. 13 cts. 
.96 cts. 
.32 cts. 
.40 cts. 
. 30 cts. 
. 60 cts. 
. 20 cts. 

cts. 

cts. 

cts. 






Salt beef 






Pork 








::::;;::;:::■■■ 


Flour .• 












Dried fruit 






Pickles 












Tea 






1,200 pounds 

450 pounds 

260 gallons 


Coffee 






Butter 




















5 gallons 

pounds 

pounds 

650 pounds 


































$ 











Approved: 



Eeceived, 



-, U. S. Navy, Commanding Officer. 

-, 188 — , from the caterers of the officers' messes, 



— dollars and 



cents, in payment for the above provisions. 



C. M. KAY, 
P. H. Paymaster, U. S. Navy. 



(Indorsed.) Expenditure voucher No. , for provisions: $ — 

188—. 

Issues to officers' messes for cash. 
U. S. ship . 

Pay - 

One copy of this invoice to be forwarded to the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing 
with the final quarterly return of provisions, and the other retained by the pay officer 
for reference. 



quarter. 



-; U. S. Navy. 



(257.) 

Navy Department, 
Washington, November 2nd, 1883. 
SiK: The receipt of your letter of October 16th is acknowledged. In the present as" 
pect of the case the Department condemns (1) the agreement enclosed in your letter o^ 
June 25th, between Lieutenant Oarlington and yourself, contemplating the separation 



APPENDIX. 191 

of the "Yantic" and the "Proteus" until August 25th; (2) your failure to accompany 
the "Proteus" from Disco Island after you had there rejoined her; (3) your unnecessary 
visit to Upernavik on July 25th, to enquire of the Danish authorities how the ice was 
probably moving between yourself and the ' ' Proteus, ' ' the six days of your delay at 
which point would have brought you to Littleton Island before the party of the " Pro- 
teus" went south; and (4) your failure, when you found at Littleton Island that the 
demoralized party of the ' ' Proteus ' ' had gone south in search of the Swedish steamer 
' ' Sofia, ' ' at Cape York, to land materials for a habitation, clothing, and some food for the 
forgotten Greely party. 

What action, if any, will be taken by the Department has not yet been determined. 
Very respectfully, 

WM. E. CHANDLER, 

Secretary of the Navy. 
Commander Fbank Wildes, U. S. N. 

Commanding U. S. S. " Yantic, ' ' Navy- Yard, Neio York. 



United States of Amebica: 

Navy Department, 
Washington, D. C, November 19, 1883. 
Pursuant to section 882 of the Revised Statutes, I hereby certify that the annexed is 
a true copy of the report of inspection of the steamer Proteus by Lieutenant Commander 
B. H. McCalla, U. S. Navy, on file in this Department. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Navy 
Department of the United States to be affixed, at the city of Washington, this nineteenth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty -three, 
and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth. 
[seal.] W. E. chandler. 

Secretary of the Navy. 
(258.) 

[1 Enclosure.] 

Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, 

Washington, June 5th, 1883. 
Sib: In compliance with your order of the 17th May, I have the honor to inform you 
that I proceeded to St. John's, New Foundland, and, upon my arrival, reported to Brig- 
adier-General Wm. B. Hazen, U. S. A. , Chief Signal Officer of the Army, for instructions 
in regard to selecting a steam sealer to be chartered to proceed to Lady Franklin Sound 
for the relief of the party under command of Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U. S. A. 

General Hazen had made all the arrangements necessary to charter the steamer Pro- 
teus, belonging to the house of T. andW. Stewart, of St. John's, subject to the inspection 
of a naval oflacer. Upon my arrival at St. John's, I was instructed by General Hazen to 
inspect the Proteus, the steamer which had conveyed Lieut. Greely's party to Lady 
Franklin Sound two years ago. 

As the result of my instructions I enclose a copy of a letter addressed to General Hazen, 
after having made careful examinations of the steamer Proteus. 

The boiler, though eight years old, was in good condition, and had apparently been 
well cared for, but in view of the fact that boilers of that age are likely to require more 
or less repairs which cannot be anticipated, I deemed it prudent to recommend that a 
skilled boiler-maker should form one of the steamer's complement. 
Very respectfully, 

B. H. McCALLA, 
Lt. Commander, U. S. N. 
Commodore J. G. Walker, U. S. N., 

Chief of Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department. 

(259.) 

St. John's, N. F., May 26, 1883. 
General Wm. B. Hazen, U. S. A., 

Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army: 
Sib : In compliance with your instructions, I have examined the steamer Proteus, be- 
longing to the house of T. and W. Stewart, with the view of her being chartered to pro- 
ceed to Smith's Sound during the coming summer for the relief of the party under Lieut. 
A. W. Greely, U. S. A. 



192 



APPENDIX. 



In my opinion, the above-mentioned steamer is fit for this purpose. 
It is desirable that, if possible, an examination should be made of the steamer's bot- 
tom, and I consider it an essential condition to the charter that a good boiler-maker 
should form one of her crew. ,j»» 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

B. H. McCALLA, 
Lt. Commander, U. S. N. 



[8285. Mis. 1883.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 

Washington City, Nov. 19, 1883. 
Major Henry Goodfellow, 

Recorder Court of Inquiry, Washington, D. C. : 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith lists of the subsistence stores issued to 
Lieut. A. W. Greely for the expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, copied from the original 
invoices of articles transferred to him. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN. 
Brig, and Bvt. Ifaj.-Gen'I, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
(Two enclosures.) 



(261.) 

List of siibsistcnce stores taken ly Lieut. A. W. Greely on Expedition to Lady Franklin Batf 

1881. 









Reduced to 








Armv ration. 


1,000 


lbs. codfish. / Furnished 


by the 


\ i;i25(?) 

/ 3, 540 (?) 


3, 540 


" pemican. \ Signal Office. 


242 


" bacon (breakfast). 




322 


729 


" ham (sugar-cured). 




972 


3,000 


" bacon. 




4,000 


8,400 


' ' pork. 




11, 200 


96 


cans salmon (2 lbs.). 




256 


23 bbls. beef (salt). 




3,345 


864 


cans beef, corned (2 lbs.). 




2,304 


120 


" beef, roast (2 lbs.). 




320 


24 


" mutton, extract (2 lbs 


,.). 


48(?) 


48 


" crab meat (1 lb.). 




48(?) 


6,450 


lbs. family flour. 




5,733 


500 


' ' maccaroni. 




500 (?) 


1,720 


' ' oatmeal. 




1,376 


140 


' ' cracked wheat. 




112 


280 


' ' farina. 




280 (?) 


980 


' ' cornmeal. 




784 


17, 899 


' ' hard bread. 




17, 899 


1,264 


' ' beans. 




8,426 


1,395 


i( a 




9,300 


576 


cans baked beans (3 lbs.). 




3,840 


420 


' ' split peas. 




2,800 


595 


' ' rice. 




5,950 


1,120 


lbs. hominy (10 lbs., 112 cans). 


11, 200 


1,900 


" Eiocoff"ee(E. eScG.). 




23, 750 


196 


" Java coffee (E. & G.). 




2,450 


200 


' ' green tea. 




10, 000 


48 


" Oolong tea (black). 




2,400 


56 


" E. B. tea. 




2, 800 


1,063 


" sugar, granulated. 




7,086 


3,060 


" A. 




20, 400 


192^ 


gals, molasses, N. 0. 




9,600 


108 


' ' syrui3. 




5,400 


296 


' ' vinegar. 




26, 900 



Equal to 27,480 rations of 
meats, being rations for 25- 
men 36i# months. 



Equal to 26,684 rations of 
breadstufifs, being rations for 
25 men Z5\l months. 



Equal to 41,516 
beans, rice, &c, 
tions for 25 
months. 



rations of 
, being ra- 
men 55iS 



510 lbs. candles. 



34, 000 



Equal to 41,400 rations of cof- 
fee or tea, being rations for 
25 men 55A months. 



Equal to 42,486 rations of 
sugar, being rations for 25 
men for 56^f months. 

Being rations for 25 men 35|| 
months. 
[Being rations for 25 men for 
\ 45M months. 



APPENDIX. 



193 



240 lbs. soap. "] 

340 cakes soap (toilet) ' ! 

48 " " " j 

200 lbs. " S.W.J 



1,568 " 
95 bags 



salt. 



(table). I 

10 lbs. pepper (Chili, Colorado). \ 
75 " " i 

Note I. 

The party consists of — 
;> commissioned officers. 
19 enlisted men. 
2 Eskimo (estimated). 
1 act. ass't surgeon. 

25 total. 



6,000 



39, 200 
30, 000 






The common soap being rations 

for 25 men for 8 months; 

toilet and salt-water soap 

not counted. 

Being rations for 25 men for 
-! 52f'-fj months; table salt not in- 
i eluded. 

f Being rations for 25 men for 
I 40 months. 

Note II, summary. 



Meat ration, 


36i|- months. 


Flour ration, 


35^ 




Beans, &c., 


55M 




Coffee and tea. 


KC 6 




Sugar, 

Vinegar, 

Candles, 


56if 
35f|- 
45i^ 




Soap, 


8 


' (not including 
salt water and 


Salt, 


^'^'30 


toilet). 
' (not including 
table salt). 



Pepper, 



40 



Note. — The articles queried do not form part of the regular ration issued to the Army, 
and the numbers in these cases have therefore been estimated. 



Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 



Nov. 19, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer, 



(260.) 
Subsistence stores, Lady Franklin Bay — Continued. 



MICELLANEOrS. 



5 

456 

100 

60 

96 

3,024 

204 

200 

5 

24 

5 

144 

24 

24 

50 

50 

10 

100 

48 

144 

48 

1,920 

198 

5 

12 

960 



lbs. allspice, 
cans apples (3 lbs.). 
lbs. ' ' evaporated, 
cans " 1 gall, 
cans asparagus, 
lbs. butter. 
" chocolate (McCobbs). 

" cinnamon, 
cans clams (2 lb.), 
lbs. cloves, 
cans corn, green, 
bott. ex. lemon (4 oz.). 

" " vanilla ( " )• ' 
nkg. gelatine (Swtnburn's). 
^' " (Nelson). 

lbs. ginger. 

' ' hops, 
cans jam, blackberry (2 lb.). 

" jelly, currant ( " ). 

" lobster ( " ). 

' ' milk, 
lbs. mustard. 

' ' nutmegs, 
bot. oil, olive, 
cans onions (2^ lbs.). 

S. Ex. 100— AP 13 



96 cans oysters (2 lbs.). 
144 " peaches (3 lb.). 
250 lbs. " (evap.). 

48 cans pears (2 lb.). 

98 " peas, Am. 

96 bot. chow chow (qt.). 
100 gal. pickled onions. 
250 " " cucumbers. 

48 cans pineapple (2 lb.). 
1,248 cans potatoes (25^ lb.). 
144 " preserved damson. 
244 lbs. prunes. 

15 (] boxes) raisins. 

66 boxes raisins. 

50 and J lb. " 
1,006 cans sauce, cranberry. 

12 bottles sauce, Tobin's Chili. 

12 pts. ' ' Worcestershire. 

504 cans soup, asst'd. 
240 pkgs. ' ' vegetable. 

40 lbs. starch, corn (32 rations). 

25 " tapioca (20 rations). 
960 cans tomatoes (3 lbs.). 
1,000 lbs. tobacco, plug. 
325 " " smoking. 



194 



APPENDIX. 



Subsistence stores, L. B. F. — Continued. 



120 cans Lima beans (2 lb.). 
144 '' ex. beef (lib.). 
552 lbs. cheese (3,680 rations). 
108 " yeast powder (2,700). 

24 bot. celery extract (4 oz.). 
504 cans eggs, con'd. 
180 lbs. figs. 
192 cans gooseberries (2 lb.). 

96 jars preserved peaches. 

12 bottles Tobasco pepper. 



18 2" bbls. sauerkraut. 
1,008 cans rhubarb. 

48 " quinces (3 lb.). 

48 ' ' shrimps. 
780 lbs. lard. 
288 boxes matches, safety. 

48 pipes, brierwood, No. 2. 
• 48 " " No. 3. 

120 pipe-stems, cherry. 
120 ' ' winchael. 



List of subsiste7ice stores, L. F. Bay, furnished by the Signal Service, U. S. A. 

24 cans tamarinds. 
48 bots. horseradish, pints. 
24 cans orange marmalade. 
50 lbs. pitted cherries. 
96 cans blueberries. 



48 


' ' whortleberries. 


24 


" white 0. H. cherries. 


48 
48 

72 
48 


" Cal. grapes. 
" " pears. 
' ' squash. 
' ' okra. 



144 


cans 


; carrots. 


144 




turnips. 


144 




beets. 


120 




sausage. 


24 




peach butter. 


24 




quince ' ' 


36 




plum ' ' 


24 




currie powder. 


6 


jars 


Canton ginger. 


12' 


pkgs herbs, asst'd. 


12 


bots 


. extracts, asst'd. 



List of subsistence stores, L. F. Bay, furnished by the Signal Service, U. S. A. — Continued. 

6 2-gal. kegs olives. 144 lbs. dates. 
8 2 bbls. eider. 30 " cocoanut. 

128 lbs. Brazil nuts. 100 gal. lime juice. 
24 cans pear butter. 

Official copy from the records of the Signal Office. 
Nov. 9, '83. 



W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Sigyial Officer. 



(262.) 

Wae Department, Oeto&er 31, 1883. 
To the Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army : 

SiE : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th inst., in- 
closing the report of First Lieutenant E. A. Garlington, SeA^enth Cavalry, uj)on the ex- 
pedition sent to the Arctic seas this summer for the relief of the international meteoro- 
logical expedition under the command of Lieutenant A. W. Greely, Fifth Cavalry, and 
also the letter of the Acting Chief Signal Officer of the 23d inst. , inclosing Lieutenant 
Garlington's responses to your special interrogations. 

It is needless to say to you that the disastrous failure of this relief expedition, upon 
the success of which depended, as it may perhaps hereafter be learned, the lives of a 
number of men, has widely excited public attention, and that there is a general desire 
to understand clearly the causes of this failure, and that it may be linown where the 
responsibility therefor rests. It is apparent that two things at least were omitted, 
either one of which being done the general obj ect of the expedition would have been accom- 
plished up to a certain i:)oint, and the party, not seriously crij^pled, would have been left 
at a place from which it could have proceeded to execute its further plans for the relief 
of Lieutenant Greelj^ and his party. 

The loss of the ProteiTS alone, happening where it did, might have been a matter of 
no importance in this connection. It was fully contemplated that if it failecTto reach 
Lady Franklin Bay it was to return to St. John's, leaving the relief party in winter 
quarters at or near Littleton Island. 

If Lieutenant Garlington had prudently made a base of supplies at or near Littleton 
Island it would have been a matter of little consequence to him or his party whether 
the Proteus Avent to St. John's, or, without loss of life, to the bottom of the ocean. 

On the other hand, if the Proteus had succeeded in reaching Lady Franklin Bay, its 
extra stores would not, as I understand, have been needed by Lieutenant Greely, who 
was there abundantly provided for, and the taking of these extra stores past Littleton 
Island was not only useless for any purpose, as I conceive, but was a fatal risk. 



APPENDIX. 1J35 

It would therefore seem that the directions contained iu the memorandum mentioned 
in your letter, that Lieutenant G-arlington should^ in going up establish a base of sup- 
plies, was a most priident measure, the omission of which, after it had once been thought 
of, it is as difficult to understand as it is deeply to be regretted. It is now clear that it 
was never an order to Lieutenant Garlington, but it is equally clear that, having seen 
it and having under your orders a discretion, he could not have done more wisely than 
to follow the particular suggestion contained in it above mentioned. 

I consider it necessary to inquire further into the history of this memorandum. It ap- 
peared as a loose paper, inclosed with your letter of instructions to Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, dated June 4, 1883; but it is not mentioned in that letter. I am advised by the 
Secretary of the Navy that while he was preparing his orders for the Yantic you fur- 
nished his Department with a supposed copy of that letter, which, in like manner, did 
not mention the memorandum and did not inclose it. This copy, as did the original, 
covered four mentioned inclosures, but only one of them seems to have been like its orig- 
inal. The three other inclosures, as now seen, differ entirely from those with the orig- 
inal letter, and do not, of course, meet their own description as found in the body of the 
supposed copy of the original letter. 

After the telegraphic reports of the disaster were received, I, upon the request of the 
Secretary of the Navy, directed the Acting Chief Signal Officer, in your absence, to pre- 
pare for and furnish to the Secretary of the Navy a copy of your instructions to Lieu- 
tenant Garlington. This last, as furnished, contains only three inclosures, four being 
mentioned in the body of the letter. One of them was substantially like one of the in- 
closures with the original letter; another was substantially like one of those with the 
first copy above mentioned' and the third was marked "Inclosure 4" (an inclosure 
4 being noted in the letter), and is a copy of the "memorandum" in question. These 
latter papers were, of course, supposed by the Secretary of the Navy and myself in our 
conference to be, as stated, an authentic copy of your instructions to Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, and we, in our conferences, formed an opinion as to his having disobeyed an order, 
which it now appears he did not, in fact, receive as an order. 

I have had prepared, .and herewith inclose, a tabulated statement and memorandum 
of the above-mentioned discrepancies, and some others of less importance existing iu the 
above-mentioned papers, which it is thought ought to be alike, and I request to be ad- 
vised what explanation there is, if any, for these discrepancies; and, further, what the 
records of your office show to have been done with the above " memorandum " after its 
original preparation; and what, in case Lieutenant Garlington had himself been lost 
upon this expedition,, would have prevented the resting upon his record of the imputa- 
tion of having disobeyed a positive instruction as to landing his extra stores at or near 
Littleton Island on his way north. 

I may also add that I observe in the agreement between yourself and the owners of 
the Proteus, under which it started upon this expedition, a clause providing for the sale 
by the Proteus to Lieutenant Greely's party at Lady Franklin Bay of coal, if needed, to 
the amount of seventy tons. I beg that you will advise me why it was supposed that that 
party might need to have the benefit of a contract for fuel to that amount, in case the 
Proteus had succeeded in reaching Lady Franklin Bay. 

The other important omission to which I have referred is the failure of Lieutenant 
Garlington to keep his ship in company with the Yantic. I have not observed in any 
of his papers a satisfactory explanation as to his reasons for permitting the Proteus to be 
separated from the Yantic before their arriving at Littleton Island or its neighborhood. 
He was informed by his letters of instructions that the Yantic would accompany him as 
far as Littleton Island. The assistance of the Navy in this way was regarded by \is as 
adding greatly to the probable success of the expedition and as an almost perfect protec- 
tion against great disaster. But, instead of sailing together, the movements of the ves- 
sels were so conducted that for all the good the Yantic was to Lieutenant Greely's party in 
any way, or to Lieutenant Garlington's relief party in saving their lives or their supplies, 
the Yantic might as well have left St. John's in 1884 as when it did. At the very out- 
set at St. John's it appears from these papers that Lieutenant Garlington and the com- 
mander of the Yantic made an agreement, embodied in an unsigned written memorandum, 
that upon leaving St. John's the Proteus was to steam and the Yantic was to go under 
sail; and the agreement does not seem to contemplate the probability of their being 
again in company until about August 25, at Pandora Harbor, not far from Littleton 
Island. As if happened. Lieutenant Garlington was still at Godhaven when, on July 
12, the Yantic arrived there, the commander of the Yantic saying that he would have to 
remain about a week to make some repairs and to coal. The Proteus remained four days of 
this week, and without waiting the other three days steamed away alone to become a 
wreck. Instead of using the Yantic as a convoy and companion, the Proteus was moved 
by written agreement and by design as though escaping from the Yantic. 

I am not satisfied with Lieutenant Garlington's explanation of the causes which led 



196 APPENDIX. 

him into the very grave and perhaps fatal error of going south from Littleton Island after 
the loss of the Proteus. If he had remained there he would have been succored by the 
Yantic in eight days, and a relief station for Lieutenant Greely's party would have been 
established. The loss of the Proteus would then have been little more than an incon- 
venience. I cannot understand how it was that while on July 22, on his way north, 
when, in his own words, ' ' The weather was perfect, calm, -warm, delightiul, * * * 
there was no ice as far as coiild be seen from the crow's-nest with the aid of a very power- 
ful telescope, ' ' he felt so safe, even away from all communication with the Yantic, that 
he saw no necessity of making a base of supplies at Littleton Island ; yet four days later, 
at the same place, he did not suppose the Yantic could get up to where he was, and so 
put to sea, with all his party, in small boats in an Arctic ocean. The Yantic was bound 
to go there. Imagine, if possible, the reception which the commander of the Yantic 
would have had if he had returned home in September with no news of the Proteus and 
without having been to Littleton Island. It is not forgotten that Lieutenant Garlington 
was not in a pleasant ijlace, nor that he endured very great hardships; but he had vol- 
unteered for the performance of an important duty, with a full knowledge of the cer- 
tmn difficulties and of the desolation which would surround him, and the demand upon 
him was correspondingly great. 

In his supplemental report Lieutenant Garlington says that "when the Proteus en- 
countered the pack in Melville Bay no one on board that vessel thought the Yantic 
would cross the bay. This opinion was formed from the known intention of the com- 
mander of the Yantic not to put his vessel into the ice." This opinion was formed on 
the way north, and therefore prevailed when Lieutenant Garlington passed Littleton 
Island. It was in effect that no assistance could come from the Yantic, and that those 
on the Proteus must depend only upon themselves for the attainment of the two alter- 
native objects of their voyage — tirst, to reach Lieutenant Greely with their ship, and, 
failing that, the establishment of a well-provided relief station at or near Littleton Isl- 
and. The last object could have been assured by merely delaying for a few days their 
dangerous northward voj^age; audit now appears that a delay of but a little more than a 
week would have iDermitted not only the establishment of the station, but would have 
put them again in close communication with the Yantic. For, as Lieutenant Garlingion 
says, "As it turned out to every one's surprise, the Yantic saw no ice in Melville Bay, 
and had an uninterrupted passage to Littleton Island. ' ' Lieutenant Garlington' s singu- 
larly unfortunate errors of judgment as to his own safety in going in one direction, and 
as to the Yantic's danger in coming from the opposite direction, were each productive of 
disaster. It appears to me that Lieutenant Garlington' s supplemental report only tends 
to make an understanding of his failure to remain at or near Littleton Island after the 
loss of the Proteus more difficult than before. If he had no hope of the Yantic coming 
north, not from lack of enterprise in its commander, but on account of the assumed un- 
fitness of the ship for such a voyage and the orders by which it was controlled, how is 
it that he expected to carry out the plan outlined in his supplementary report, where he 
says that he ' ' determined to communicate with the Yantic as soon as possible to do so, to 
get from her all the supplies that coiild be spared, and establish a depot at Life-boat Cove ' ' ? 
Life-boat Cove is near Littleton Island. It is not to be supposed that he thought that 
the Yantic would accomplish more under his guidance than before, and would come 
north to Littleton Island or Life-boat Cove to land supplies if its orders or its condition 
were such as to prevent its coming. It is even more imj)robable that Lieutenant Gar- 
lington could reasonably expect to cross a large expanse of Arctic sea in small boats and 
return in them, necessarily in a late season, with supplies and shelter for a winter station 
at Life-boat Coa'c. UjDon due consideration I have thought it proper to submit the case 
to the President, with my recommendation that he direct the appointment of a court of 
inquiry to investigate the fitting out of the Greely relief expedition transported by the 
steamer Proteus, liaAdng particular reference to the orders and instructions therefor, and 
for the conduct of the expedition and the arrangements made for assistance from the U. 
S. S. Yantic ; and also the general conduct of the expedition, including particularly the 
ailure of the Proteus to keep in company with the Yantic up to Littleton Island, or its 
neighborhood, and the failure to establish a well-provided relief station at or near Lit- 
tleton Island ; and \Adth directions to report their findings and their opinions as to 
whether the conduct of any officer of the Army in the premises calls for further pro- 
ceedings before a court-martial, and the reasons for the conclusions which they may 
reach. 

The President has thereupon directed that a court of inquiry be appointed, as recom- 
mended, and the necessarj^ orders will be at once issued. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

EGBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



APPENDIX. 197 

(263.) 

Memorandum in relation to instructions to Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav., commanding 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay for relief of Lieut. Greely and party. 

[Lieutenant Garlington's papers.] 

Lieut. Garlington, in his report to the Chief Signal Officer, dated October 2, 1883, 
states " that in obedience to par. 7, Special Orders No. 129, c. s. A. G. O., and instruc- 
tions from ' the Signal Office (appended and marked ' A, ' with four enclosures and memo- 
randum)' he left Washington city on the 11th of June, 1883," &c. 

No copy of the par. of Special Orders referred to is found with or embodied in his 
report. 

The other papers mentioned are as follows : 

The instructions, "Appendix 'A'," is a hektogi-aph letter from the Chief Signal Officer, 
addressed to Lieut. Garlington, dated June 4, 1883; it is signed in black ink by "W. 
B. Hazen, Chf. Sig. Oifr."; the figure " 4 " (the date) on page 1, the word "and" inter- 
lined between the words ' ' officer ' ' and ' ' enlisted ' ' on page 6, and a line drawn through 
iihe words ' ' and Mr. Beebe ' ' on the same page, are also in black ink, and were apparently 
inserted by the Chief Signal Officer at the time of signing. After the word ' ' enclosure, ' ' 
on page 5, the figure " 1 " is inserted in ijencil, and after the word ' ' enclosure, ' ' on page 
" 1, " the figure "3" is inserted in pencil. On page 6, in the margin, opposite the words 
"enclosed memoranda marked B, C, D, E, " is the memorandum " Enc. 2" in pencil; 
pencil marks are also drawn through the words ' ' and Mr. Beebe ' ' on page 6. 

The enclosures referred to are: 

Enclosure 1. A printed letter from Lieut. Greely to the Chief Signal Officer, dated 
August 17, 1881. 

Enclosure 2 is composed of: 

' ' Memorandum 'A. ' Instructions for closing scientific work at Camp Conger. ' ' 

' ' Memorandum ' B. ' Scientific outfit of the Lady Franklin Bay Relief Expedition of 
1883." 

' ' Memorandum ' C. ' Instructions as to observations on the voyage. ' ' 

' ' Memorandum ' D. ' Instructions for Lieut. Garlington at Life-Boat Cove. ' ' 

' ' Memorandum ' F. ' Instructions in event of being frozen in in the pack-ice of 
Smith's Sound before reaching Camp Conger." 

The memorandums A, B, C, D, E, composing enclosure 2, are fastened together, and 
.are not signed. 

Enclosure 3. " List of stores at St. John's, or cached " (not signed). 

fEnclosure 4.1 

Agreement for use of steamship Proteus. 

(Certified copy. ) 

Memorandum written in black ink and dated at the end, " O. C. S. O. , Washington, 
D. C, June 5, 1883," not signed. (Referred to as "Supplementary Instructions. ") Of 
this memorandum Lieut. Garlington in his report to the Chief Signal Officer, dated Oct. 
2, 1883, says: 

" I desire to call your attention to the manifest injury done me in the publication of 
certain statements immediately after the news of the disaster reached here. These state- 
ments, purporting to have been authorized fi'om the Signal Office, were to the effect that 
I had been furnished with supplementary instructions prior to my departure from the 
United States, which instructions I had positively disobeyed. 

"The only instructions I ever received are the original instructions published at the 
time. An unsigned written paper (with Apj)endix 'A, ' marked 5) was enclosed in the 
envelope with my instructions. This paper is simply an unauthenticated co'pj of a mem- 
orandum prepared in your office. I was informed that this memorandum was to have 
been furnished the Secretary of the NaA^ to form the basis of instructions to be given 
the commander of the vessel ordered to accompany the Proteus. When I found it among 
my instructions I at once carried it to you and called your attention especially to that 
clause relating to landing supplies on Littleton Island. You said, in substance, you 
did not know how that had gotten in there, and impressed upon me the necessity of 
carrying out as far as possible the instructions I had received. These instructions were 
based upon the letter of Lieut. Greely (1st enclosure of Appendix 'A '), and you called 
my attention to the fact that Lieut. Greely strongly urged that the officer commanding 



198 APPENDIX. 

the relief party should have ' no latitude of action. ' The paper was not addressed nor 
signed, indeed bore no official marks whates^er. I did not then, nor have I at any time 
since, regarded it as an order, and I was surprised to find the statement published that 
this paper Avas the ' supplementary instructions. ' ' ' 

The Chief Signal Officer, in letter dated Oct. 16th, enclosing Lieut. G-arlington's report 
to the Secretary of War, says : ' ' The question of supplementary orders that Mr. Gar- 
lingfcon refers to as having been raised, and in unfairness to himself, is, in substance, 
correctly stated by him. ' ' 

(264.) 

Papers sent by the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of the Navy and by him to 
Capt. Wildes before the departure of the expedition: 

1. Hektograph copy of letter of instructions from Chief Signal Officer to Lieut. Gar- 
lington. 

This copy is not certified. The figure " 4 " (date) in black ink on page 1 of the original, 
the pencil memorandum ' ' Enc. 2 " in the margin on page 5, the figure "1 " in pencil 
on page 6, figure " 3 " in pencil on page 7, the word " and " interlined in black ink on 
page 6, and the line drawn in black ink through the words " and Mr. Beebe " on page 
6, are left out; a pencil mark is drawn through the words " Mr. Beebe," on page 6. 

At tlie close this copy is signed " W. B. Hazen, Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Genl., Chief Signal 
Officer, U. S. A.," instead of " W. B. Hazen, Chf Sig. Offr.," as in the original. 

2. Printed copy of letter from Lieut. Greely to Chief Signal Officer, dated August 17. 
1881. 

3. Hektograph copy of letter from Chief Signal Officer to Lieut. A. W. Greely, dated 
June 4, 1883. (Not certified.) 

4. Printed pamphlet, " Signal-Service Notes No. V. Work of the Signal Service in the 
Arctic Regions. ' ' 

5. Copy of ' ' Track chart of steamer Neptune, July 28 to Sept. 5, 1882, in attempt- 
ing to reach Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land. ' ' 

Papers given to the Secretary of the Navy by Capt. Mills, after the disaster, as ,being 
copies of the papers given to Lieut. Garlington : 

1. Hektograph copy of letter of instructions from Chief Signal Officer to Lieut. Gar- 
lington. Not certified. 

This copy is difterent from the original in the following particulars, viz: the figure "4"' 
(date) on page 1 is red ink instead of black ink; the word " one " is written after the 
word "enclosure " on page 5 in red ink, instead of the figure " 1 " in pencil; the words 
"enclosure two " are written in red ink after the letters " B, C, D, E, " on page 6, in- 
stead of " Enc. 2" in pencil in the margin; the word " and" interlined on page 6 of 
the original is left out ; the lines drawn through the words ' '' and Mr. Beebe ' ' on page 6 
are in red instead of black ; the word ' ' three ' ' is written in red ink after the word ' ' en- 
closure ' ' on page 7, instead of the figure " 3 " in pencil ; and the words ' ' enclosure four ' ' 
are written in red ink at the end of the last paragraph but one on page 8, but do not 
appear at all in the original or in the copy given to the Secretary of the Navy before the 
departure of the expedition. It is closed "H. B. Hazen, Bvt. Maj. & Brig. Genl.', U. 
S. A., Chf S. O.," instead of " W. B. Hazen, Chf Sig. Offr." 

This copy is endorsed on the back, "Lieut. Garlington's instructions," in black ink,, 
and ' ' Five enclosures, ' ' in red ink, which endorsement is not on the back of the original 
or on the copy first given to the Sec'y of the Navy. None of the words in red ink in 
ihis copy were in the copy giA^en to the Sec'y of the Navy before the expedition started. 

2. Printed copy of letter from Lieut. Greely to Chief Signal Officer, dated August 17, 
1881. 

3. Printed pamphlet, ' ' Signal-Service Notes No. V. Work of the Signal Servic in 
the Arctic Regions. ' ' 

4. ' ' Enc. 4. ' ' This is a copy of the ' ' Memorandum, ' ' with ' ' Appendix A, " of Lieut. 
Garlington's report, except that it is made by the hektograph ; the word "it" occurs 
before the word ' ' dangerous, ' ' instead of " in, " and the word " up " occurs in the last 
line of the copy, and is not in the original. 

The date "O. C. S. O., Washington, D. C, June 5, 1883," is not on the copy. 



APPENDIX. 



199 



This paper is pinned to No. 1 of the papers given to the Sec'y of the Navy after the 
disaster, and is marked on the back "Enc. 4," which mark is not on the original. 



Lieut. Garlington's papers. 



Papers given to Sec'y of the 
Navy before departure of 
expedition. 



Papers given to Sec'y of Navy by 
Capt. Mills after the disaster. 



Letter of instructions, June 4, 
1883 ("Appendix A"). 



Printed copy of Lieut. Greely's 
letter to C. S. O., Aug. 17, 1881 
(Enc. 1). 

Memorandums A, B, C, D, E, 
instructions, &c. (Enc. 2). 

" List of stores at St. John's or 
cached" (Enc. 3). 

Charter of steamship "Pro- 
teus" (Enc. 4). 

Memorandum ("supplement- 
ary instructions") not men- 
tioned in letter. 



Copy of letter of instructions, 
not dated, &c. 



Printed copy of Lieut. Greely's 
letter to C. S. O., Aug. 17, 1881. 



Copy of letter from C. S. O. to 
Lieut. Greely, June 4, 1883. 

Printed pamphlet, "Signal- 
Service Notes No. V." 

Printed copy of "Track chart 
of steamer Neptune," 1882. 



Copy of letter of instructions. Red- 
ink insertions in this copy not in 
original or in copy first given to 
Sec'y of the Navy. 

Printed copv of Lieut. Greely's 
letter to C.^S. O., Aug. 17, 1881. 



Imperfect copy of memorandum 
("supplementary instructions" ) 
pinned to copy of letter & 
marked " Enc. 4 "; called in red- 
ink note on page 8 "enclosure 
four." 



Printed pamphlet, Signal-Service 
Notes No. V. 



(265.) 
[Signal Office, War Department.] 

Signal Service Notes No. X. 
REPORT ON LADY FRANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION OF 1883. 



Prepared under the direction of Brig. & Bvt. Maj. Gen'l W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer of the 

Armv. 

By Ernest A. Garlington, 

\st Lieut. 7th U. 8. Cavalry, Acting Signal Officer. 

by authokity of the seceetaby of wak. 

Washington City, Signal Office, 1883. 



This note is phulished for the information of those interested in research in the Arctic 
regions. 

Ordinarily, the letter of transmittal of the Chief Signal Officer would have preceded 
the report of the officer in command of the supply expedition; but as that letter contains 
questions that are answered in Lieutenant Garlington's supplementary report, it has 
been demed best to print the papers chronologically. 



3 LADY FEANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION. 

Eeport op Lieutenant Gablington. 
[Endorsed 7076— 0. C. S. O.— Mis.— 1883.] 

Washington, D. C, October 2, 1883. 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A.: 

Sir: I have the honor to report that, in obedience to par. 7, Special Orders No. 129, 
c. s., A. G. O., and instructions from your office (appended and marked "A," with four 



200 APPENDIX. 

enclosures and memorandum), I left Washington city on the 11th of June, 1883, and 
proceeded to New York, thence by United States steamer Yantic to Saint John's, New- 
foundland, where I arrived on the 21st of June, without incident worthy of notice. I 
learned from the United States consul, Mr. Malloy, who came aboard almost immedi- 
ately after the ship arrived, that the stores that had been shipped from New York on the 
7th of June, on the steamer Alhambra, had arrived and had been turned over to Captain 
Pike, master of steamship Proteus, which had been previously chartered for the expedi- 
tion. As soon as possible I went ashore and visited the Proteus, then lying at her wharf 
taking in cargo. 

Everything was already on board except the house and stores left at Saint John's 
from the expedition of last year. In order to get at the meteorological instruments 
necessary to carry on the work called for by my instructions, a large portion of the cargo 
had to be broken out; this was done on the 22d of June. Captain Pike reported that he 
would be ready to go to sea at the eud of a week. 

I then proceeded to get together the stores at Saint John's which had been previously 
ordered by letter. Many of the articles thus ordered were not as good as they should 
have been, but it was then too late to replace them, so they had to be taken. I found 
that Consul Malloy had not secured the services of the three native sealers as you sup- 
posed had been done. As all the best of these sealers had made their an-angements for 
the summer at the fisheries, I found it very difficult to get any one suitable for the serv- 
ice ; however, after several days, I succeeded in shipping three men, who proved to be 
very good and reliable. 

While in Saint John's, Lieut. J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy, at his own request, strongly 
recommended by me, was detailed for duty with the relief expedition and reported for 
duty the 23d of June. On the evening of the 28th, Captain Pike reported .ship ready to 
leave the wharf, my detachment went aboard, the ship dropped out into the harbor and 
anchored. 

As a result of a consultation with Commander Wildes, the agreement was entered into, 
which is hereto appended and marked " B. " 

At 4 o'clock p. m., the 29th of June, the steamships Yantic and Proteus steamed out 
of the harbor of Saint John's for Godhavn. 

The day was beautiful, the wind was blowing a gentle breeze off shore. After clear- 
ing the narrows, the Proteus set her course close into shore; the Yantic set sail and went 
more to eastward; we lost sight of her at 7.30 o'clock p. m., and saw her no more until 
she reached Godhavn. 

On the morning of the 1st of July several icebergs were sighted, and during the day 
we passed several stnall pans of floe ice, also many scattered pieces of ice. 

At 5 o'clock p. m. the same day, in latitude 53° 50^ north, longitude 52° 50'' 
4 west, a large field of floe ice was sighted ahead, extending to the southward and 

eastward; we therefore altered our course slightly and ran into more open water. 
The ship was now forced through a large field of broken ice, very hard and blue in color, 
of peculiar forms and shapes, generally with flat tops, one-half to three-quarters under 
water, deejily washed horizontally, with long, projecting, shelf-like sides extending out- 
ward and downward into the water. 

At 11.20 p. m., on the night of the 1st of July, we had to lie alongside very heavy 
ice for flve hours, on account of an intensely dense fog. At half-past four o'clock, a. m., 
on the 2d, we were again under way, and at 11 o'clock were clear of ice, after doing a 
little butting. 

At 11 o'clock p. m. the temperature of the water was 33° Fahr. at the surface; the 
minimum temperature of the atmosphere during the night was 31° Fahr. On the morn- 
ing of the 2d of July much ice was seen from aloft to the southward and eastward, but 
we soon lost sight of it, and no more floe ice was seen south of Disco, although many ice- 
bergs were passed. 

On the night of the 4th of July the sun went below the horizon for the last time dur- 
ing the month. On the night of the 5th, at ten minutes to 12 o'clock, the sun touched 
the horizon, and, after an instant's apparent rest there, started on its upward course. 

The coast of Greenland, very high and snow-capped, supposed to be old Sukkertop, 
was sighted at quarter of one o'clock on the afternoon of the 5th. Disco Island was 
sighted at 11 o'clock on the morning of the (jth, about" fifty miles to the northward. 

Owing to some error in his bearings, the captain ran by the entrance to the harbor of 
Godhavn, and was making about due course for Eitenbenk, when some one on deck dis- 
covered a small boat several miles astern of us, evidently endeavoring to attract our 
attention. The ship was put about, and, after steaming five or six miles, came up to 
the boat, which proved to be the pilot boat from Godhavn. The pilot came aboard and 
showed -Captain Pike the way in. We were anchored in harbor at 7.30 p. m. I imme- 
diately went ashore, and was very courteously received by Governor Djurhuus, from 
whom I learned that the inspector, Herr Andersen, was at Egedesminde, not having as 



APPENDIX. 201 

yet changed his residence to Godha\Ti. He also informed me that no skin clothing had 
been prepared for this expedition at Godha^Ti, for the reason that he had received no 
instructions, and for the same reason he conld not furnish me the E;skimo dog drivers, 
whom I expected to secure here. He could not tell me whether the inspector had re- 
cei\ed such instructions, so I determined to go to Egedesminde, as it was necessary for 
me to see him in person. 

Governor Djurhuus verj' kindly offered to accompany me, and accordingly the next 
day we got the ship under way and proceeded to that settlement. The ship was steamed 
into harbor, no soundings being taken, and the anchor let go in three fathoms of water. 
In a few minutes she swung around and grounded under her stern; a warp was run ont 
from the starboard c^uarter and the ship was pulled clear withont mtich difficulty. I 
found the inspector absent on his annual tour of inspection, and as Godhavn was in- 
cluded in that tour, and the probabilities were that he would reach that place in a few 
days, I returned at once to await the arrival there of the Yantic as well as the inspector. 
At Egedesminde, I- learned from the governor there that the inspector had, as far as he 
knew, received no instructions whatever in regard to an expedition from the United 
States. This was discouraging, as I knew it would then be impossible to procure skin 
clothing in any quantity, and I apprehended some difficulty in procuring the services ot 
two Eskimo dog drivers in the absence of instructions from the home Government. 

From the 7th of July until the 16th I remained in the harbor of Godhavn, the crew 

being engaged in shifting cargo, iilliug coal blinkers, and generally trimming 

5 ship. My own men were employed in preparing stores for forming depots as ordered 

(four of these were prepared of two hundred and fifty rations each) , moAing stores so 

as to be easily accessible in case of having to abandon ship, airing skin clothing, and getting 

alongside stores which had been left here by the expedition of last year. 

Herr Andersen, the inspector, arrived on the afternoon of July 12th. I immediately 
called upon him, and through Governor Djurhuus (the inspector speaking no English) 
learned that no instructions had been received by him in reference to an expedition from 
the United States. He, however, said he would gladly do all in his power to further 
the success of the expedition ; that it was of course too late now to procure clothing, but 
that he would furnish two strong and reliable Eskimo, one of them from Godhavn, the 
other from Disco fjord, which we would pass on the way north, and conld stop there to 
take him on board. This was satisfactory; the failure to get skin clothing was of no 
great consequence, as I already had a large supply. 

The Yantic arrived at 7. 15 p. m. , the 12th of July. She had come all the way under 
sail and had encountered no ice at all. Commander Wildes informed me that he would 
remain there probably a week to repair the ship's boilers, then go to the coal mine in 
Waigatt Strait and mine and get aboard about one hundred tons of coal. He subsequently 
told me, before leaving Godhavn, that he had succeeded in procuring from the inspector 
an order for thirty tons of coal from Ritenbenk, and that he would call there for it. 

At 1 o'clock a. m. of the 14tli, Nordenskj old's steamer, the Sofia, arrived and left for 
Ritenbenk the next morning. She was to land a portion of her scientific party on Disco 
Island, put on coal at Eitenbenk, then proceed to Cape York and remain there thirty 
days. While here they procured the services of Hans Christian for the Cape York 
party. 

On the afternoon of the 14th the Eskimo dogs were gotten on board (twenty-one in 
number) and placed in a pen on deck, the Eskimo Nicholas taking charge of them. 

I determined now to proceed north without further delay. The time necessary for re- 
pairing the boiler of the Yantic and the additional delay in procuring coal would be 
longer than I deemed justifiable in fuiiiher delaying my progress north. I therefore de- 
termined to leave Godhavn as soon as the state of the weather warranted. Outside the 
harbor it had been thick and threatening since the 12th of July, and Captain Pike did 
not think it prudent to put to sea. On the morning of the 16th the fog lifted, and at 6 
a. m. the ship was under way, intending to call at a small settlement about fifteen miles 
up Disco fjord to get the other Eskimo whose services had been secured for the expedi- 
tion. 

The inspector and also the governor of Godhavn both assured me there would be no 
difficulty in reaching the settlement with the ship, and that Nicholas, the Eskimo, was 
perfectly acquainted with the fjord. At 8 a. m., when abreast of a small island lying on 
the eastern side of the entrance to the fjord, and which we had to round in entering, the 
mate reported shallow water ahead. Captain Pike thought there was plenty of water, 
calling attention to several icebergs ahead as evidence of the fact (these proved to be 
aground), but took no precaution to ascertain the depth of water by sounding. He 
caused the ship to "slowdown" to half speed, and almost immediately gave signal 
"astern full speed," but before she answered she struck about 'midships on the star- 
board side, made one or two jumps, and hung on her starboard quarters; she slewed 
around easily and to the southward, and lay north and south with a slight list to the 



202 APPENDIX. 

port side. There was a slight swell, causing the ship to bump several times. Lieuten- 
ant Colwell got several casts of the lead; over the starboard quarter the line indieil^■d 
five fathoms of water. He was nonplussed to account for the ship's striking in Ave 
fathoms of water, when one of the crew standing near told him that three fath- 

6 oms had been cut irom the lead-line, so that in reality there were but twelve feet 
of water where she struck; soundings showed nineteen feet over the bow. When 

the ship hung, the engines were put ahead and astern at full speed, and in a few minutes 
she started, and with two or three jumps swung clear. 

An exatoinatiou was made by the chief engineer, who reported the main injection 
j)ipe cracked, but repaired it with canvas and white lead. A few splinters of wood 
floated to the surface, which were ground from her false keel as the ship swung on the 
rocks. The careless manner in which the ship was being navigated was thus again 
brought forcibly to my mind, and although I was • determined not to interfere in the 
slightest way with Captain Pike in his duties as master, I could not refrain from calling 
his attention to the matter, and insisting on more care in the future. After the ship 
was clear, wishing to take no more chances, I called away one of the whale-boats, and 
with Lieutenant Colwell, and crew of my own men, including the Eskimo Nicholas, 
started for the settlement in Disco Fjord, which we reached after three hours' sailing. 

I soon found the man designated by the inspector to accompany me, and Nicholas gave 
him the inspector's orders. In a few minutes he was ready to accompany us, with all 
his earthly possessions, a kyack and the skin clothing he had on his back. Before we 
could get out of the fjord a very dense fog set in, and it was with great difficulty that 
we finally' got clear, there being so many inlets running from the fjord inland. How- 
ever, I had made arrangements with Captain Pike to begin at 1 p. m. and fire his small 
swivel-gun at intervals of fifteen minutes, and to sound the steam whistle at intervals of 
five minutes; so, after arriving within hearing, we experienced no further difficulty, and 
reached the ship at 4 p. m. It cleared at 5 p. m. , and the ship was under way again. 
Eunning around the southwest corner of Disco Island, the course was set for Cape York. 

On the morning of the 17th we passed Hare Island, about forty miles to the eastward. 
Icebergs were numerous in all directions, as well as fragments, of all sizes, from those 
which had foundered. Saunderson's Hope was sighted at 6.20 p. m., fifty or sixty miles 
to the eastward. I was awakened on the morning of the 18th by being nearly thrown 
from my bunk, and upon looking through my port, saw ice in all directions. 

I immediately went on deck, it being 6.30 a. m., and found that the ship was forcing 
her way through floe ice, the greater portion of which had the appearance of being -sery 
rotten and for the most part thin, varying from two to six feet in thickness; other por- 
tions, however, were very hard, blue in color, and from ten to twelve feet in thickness, 
showing manifestly the presence of Arctic ice. Scattered through this ice were numerous 
floe and icebergs of weird, fantastic shapes. On the top of the flat pans were numerous 
pools of water, which Captain Pike pronounced fresh. I procured a cup full and tested 
it with nitrate of silver, which showed that it contained salt. 

He caused pieces to be broken from the highest points of the floe and put in the tank, 
which, when melted, were also subjected to the test, and it showed the precipitate at 
once, so I therefore ordered it to be used for washing purposes only. 

The ship wtls stopped at 4.30 a. m., July 9th,"". by an impenetrable pack. She was 
backed out and went south for a distance of eight miles, then a more easterly course 
was taken, and at 7.15 a. m. we sighted land, pronounced by Captain Pike to be Bush- 
man Island, with Cape York to the westward. We continu^ed in a general easterly course, 
working our way through the pack, hoping to find an open lead to the northward. At 
4 p. m. the ship was brought to a standstill by the solid floe. Here I determined 

7 to lay until it was possible to get an observation for longitude, and thus ascertain 
our true position. The pack was unbroken in all directions except to the south- 
ward. With an artificial horizon placed on the floe, Lieutenant Cohvell determined longi- 
tude to be 61° 30' W. , Captain Pike proving to be entirely in error as to his position, 
and the land pronounced by him to be Cape York was, in reality. Cape Walker, and the 
island one of the Belgoni group. I was not surprised at the error made by Captain Pike, 
as he had no idea of what was the local deviation of his compass, which must have been 
great and variable for different courses, due to the large amount and unequal distribution 
of iron about the binnacle. At 7.20 p. m. the ship was turned south and made about 
twenty miles in that direction, wheii a lead to the west was discovered and followed, 
with many changes in course to keep in open water, making as much northing as pos- 
sible. At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 20th we were again stopped by an impene- 
trable pack to the north and west. 

iThe ship was again turned about and went twenty or twenty -five miles to the south- 
ward, when the course was changed to north and west through loose and rotten ice. 
Cape York was in sight all the afternoon. 

* This date was presumably the 19th. — Ed. 



APPENDIX. 203 

At 7 p. m. we sighted Conical roek and steered directly tor it. This island was passed 
at 1 a. m. the 21st, a few miles to the eastward. On this night young ice formed from 
the fresh water from the melting icebergs, as temperature of the water was only 31° 
Fahr. During the night and morning we passed through much loose ice and a large 
number of icebergs. At 9 a. m. 21st, Saunders' Island bore abeam. We were within 
twenty miles of S. E. Carey Island, but could not see it for the fog. At 11 p. m. we 
were stopped by the pack and forced to retrace our course to the sovrth, to find passage 
to the north and west, which was done when opposite Wolstenholme Island. We were 
clear of ice at 12 p. m. , and reached S. E. Carey Island at .3 p. m., the cache of the 
"Nares' Expedition" being plainly in sight on the southwest end of the island. 

As there was quite a breeze from the west, the ship j)assed around to the leeward of 
the island and lay there while I, with Lieutenant Colwell, visited the cache to leave a 
record for Commander Wildes, in case he should reach this place, and to examine the con- 
dition of the stores. i 

I found everything there undisturbed. From a careful examination of two barrels of 
bread and three ca'ns of meat I estimated that sixty per cent, of the provisions are in 
good condition, while i^erhaps seventy-five per cent, could be eaten in emergency. The 
boat was also in good condition. I took a copy of the records of Lieutenant Lockwood, 
of the Greely expedition, also a copy of the records of Sir G-eorge Nares, and left the 
original and my own record well secure under the boat. These copies were all lost in 
the wreck; the original record of Lieutenant Lockwood, afterwards furnished me by 
Commander Wildes, is appended, marked " C. " 

While on the island Lieutenant Colwell obtained a good observation for longitude, and 
his computation placed it more to the southward and eastward than now indicated on 
the chart. I saw several broods of young ducks, which indicated, according to Captain 
Pike, an early season in this region. I sent Artificer Moritz to the top of the island to 
examine the cairn, which he found as it had been left by Lieutenant Greely, and nothing 
was disturbed. The quantity and character of the ice encountered was interpreted as 
showing that a great deal had passed out of Smith's Sound. At 7.20 p. m. we were 
under way, no ice in sight, steaming for Cape Alexander. 

At 6 a. m. , the 22d, we rounded the cape and entered Pandora Harbor. I went ashore 
to leave a record (appended and marked "D"), but I could not find the record left by 
the expedition of last year. The cliff's around the harbor were covered with birds which 
kept up a deafening chattering. 

The weather was perfect, calm, warm, delightful, and the hills were green with the 
pretty flowering moss of those regions, with occasional patches of grass of lux- 
8 uriant growth. There was no ice as far as could be seen from the " crow's-nest" 

with the aid of a very powerful telescope. 

I determined, if conditions continued the same, not to stop to leave a record at Little- 
ton Island, but to take advantage of the open water and auspicious circumstances, and 
push to the northward as far as Cape Prescott, where I had determined to make my first 
cache of provisions and to leave a whale-boat. We passed Littleton Island at 9.45 a. m., 
the coal pile being plainly visible and apparently undisturbed. There was still no ice 
seen from the "crow's-nest," but at 10.30 a. m. it was reported, and at 11.30 a. m. the 
ship lay alongside of it. It presented an unbroken front — no leads to the north. I then 
decided to go to Cape Sabine to examine cache there, leave records, and await further 
developments. 

We reached Payer Harbor at 3. 30 p. m. I immediately landed Privates Ellis and 
Lamar, with magnetic and other instruments, thinking we would remain in Payer Har 
bor long enough to get a set of observations. 

I then, with a crew of my own party in one of the ship's boats, went to search for the 
cache of the expedition of last year, which I found after some difficulty. The tripod 
with flag marking the place had fallen down. Everything was in good condition except 
the boat, which bore marks of the claws of bears, a patch of lead having been pulled off; 
however, the damage was slight. The tarpatdin which covered the stores that could not 
be put under the boat had been torn up by wild beasts. The tripod was placed in po- 
sition and as well secured as possible. While the men were srt work I examined the 
condition of the ice to the northward, and discovered that the pack had broken, and 
that open lanes of water had formed leading across Buchanan Strait, along Bache Island, 
and across Princess Marie Bay as far north as a point of land which I took to be Cape 
Hawks and around it. After satisfying myself with the glass that there could be no 
mistake about the presence of a favorable lead, I started back to the ship, hurrying as 
rapidly as possible, appreciating the rapid changes in the condition of the ice and the 
treacherous movement of the pack. I reached the ship at 6.30 p. m., and at once got 
the observers aboard, and told Captain Pike of the open way, and requested him to get 
under way and steam out of the harbor to make an examination of the leads and an 
effort to proceed north. 



204 APPENDIX. 

We were under way at 8 p. m. As we rounded Cape Sabine, at my request Lieuten- 
:ant Colwell took station in the " crows's-nest " with the mate. We proceeded through 
the oi^en leads in the broken ice, which Avas very heavy, to within four miles of Cape 
Albert, Avhen the ship was stopped about six hundred yards from the open water, which 
extended along the coast as far as could be seen from the ' ' crow's-nest. " Captain Pike 
thought the ship could be forced through and entered a crack in the ice, and we accom- 
plished about half the distance by "ramming." But after this the "ramming" was 
ineffectual, as the fragments of ice about the shij) had become ground up so fine that 
Vivien she backed out it would fill up the space immediately in front of the new fracture 
in the ice, and, as the ship came forward to ram, it acted as a cushion, which reduced 
her momentum to such an extent that when she struck the ice itself she had not sufSi- 
.cient force remaining to have any effect upon it. About midnight the attempt at this 
point was given up. A lead was found more to the eastward, in which the ship made 
fair progress until 2 a. m. the 23d, when we were jammed, and unable to move in any 
direction, Avithin two hundred yards of oj)en water. The ice here was not so heaA'y as 
it was in the position left at midnight, and Captain Pike pronounced the ship in no 
danger on account of its yielding nature. Soon after, at 5 a. m. , the ice immediately in 
front separated, and we were in the open water Avhich had been in our immediate front 
the night before. On arriving within four miles of Cape Albert it was discoA'ered that 
the open lane of Avater seen the night before had disappeared, and that the solid i)ack 

now held its place. 
9 The attempt to proceed north Avas then relinquished for the time, and the ship 

was turned to the southward to make its way out of the pack. We proceeded in 
that direction until 11 a. m., when the ice closed in and effectually checked further pro- 
g;ress. The ship was held here until 1 p. m. ; the ice was much broken, and there was 
no danger of a "nip." As soon as it Avas possible, we started and made good progress 
for some time by frequently changing course and folloAving the most favorable leads. 

The large pans of ice which the cAening before Avere passing to the southward were 
now being brought back by the tide. Buchanan Strait was rapidly filling up from 
the same cause. About 2.45 p. m. the ship was brought to a standstill within four hun- 
dred yards of open water, and movement in any direction was impossible. She was lying 
east and west. The ice in front and along the crack we Avere folloAving immediately be- 
gan to show signs of enormous pressure. The ship was in a most dangerous situation, 
and I realized that we would have a veritable ' ' nip. ' ' I called my men quietly, and at 
once put them to work getting stores ready to be thrown on the ice at the first evidence 
of the ship sustaining serious injury. The Neptune had been beset in very nearly the 
same position last year, but had withstood the strain, rising three feet, and had gotten 
clear without damage. I hoped that the ice floes Avould cease or part before doing their 
fatal work. The pressure against the ship's sides Avas incalculable; the heavy ice, from 
five to seven feet in thickness, as it came against her sides under this powerful strain, 
broke and rafted up on the floe amidships and astern, but still there were no signs of 
giving way. I yet hoped that the pressure would cease. At 4.30 p. m. the starboard 
rail gave way Avith a crash. 

At this time I was in the ' ' main hold ' ' with part of my detachment getting out pro- 
Ad.sions ; another detail, under Sergeant Kenney, was in the ' ' fore peak ' ' getting out the 
prepared depots. Lieutenant Colwell came to the ' ' hatch ' ' and told me that the bul- 
warks had given way, but that he thought the ' ' nip ' ' was easing. I requested him to 
look after getting the boats clear. About the same time Sergeant Kenney reported the 
depots on deck. Almost immediately after there was another loud crash ; the ice had 
forced its Avay through the ship's side into the starboard coal bunker. 

The deck planks began to rise and seams to oi)en out. I at once set the men to A\'ork 
throAving proA'isions OA^erboard as rapidly as iDOSsible. I observed that many of the boxes 
were going under the ship's side as they were throAvn over on the starboard side, and two 
men were sent on the ice to move them farther on this floe as they came over, but this 
they could not do rapidly enough, and about thirty per cent, of the stores thrown OA'er 
went under. 

All the stores on deck and those near at hand in the hold Avere thrown OA^erboard. 
Lieutenant Colwell was at this time getting the boats on the ice. The dingy and the 
starboard whale-boat Avere gotten off' Avithout much difficulty; a small hole, however, was 
stove in the whale-boat. There Avas uoav much Avater in the hold, and prevented more 
provisions laeing taken out, I now turned my attention to getting those stores already 
on the ice to a place of safety, and taking my detail proceeded to remove the boats and 
provisions to a safe distance from the ship, as I feared that Avhen the ship Avould go down 
she Avould keel over to one side or the other and break the ice for some distance from her 
sides. Lieutenant Colwell was still at Avork on the port Avhale-boat, Avhich was jammed 
and resisted all efforts to move it. The ship began to settle; the alarm was given "she 
is sinking." All hands on the ship then left her, but she settled only a few inches, and 



APPENDIX. ^ 205 

there appeared to be in no immediate danger. Lieutenant Colwell then went back to 
the whale-boat, and the detail, assisted now by the engineer of the Proteus, Mr. Car- 
michael, and the boatswain of the Proteus, Mr. Taylor, succeeded in getting it from the 
gallows frame, but here it stuck hard and fast between the ice and the ship. The 
10 pressure 'fortunately eased a little on that side, and with the assistance of axes the- 
boat was cleared. 

The chronometers, sextants, and records were gotten out of the cabin and safely placed 
on the ice by Privates Ellis and Lamar. At 6. 50 p. m. those who were still on the ship, 
saving whatever they could, left her, Lieutenant Colwell leaving last. At 7.15 p. m. 
she began to sink, and slowly passed out of sight on an even keel. One boat and a large 
quantity of stores were on the floe which had been on the port side of the ship, and it 
was necessary to get them on the other floe with the rest of the stores, and to move those- 
already there, the ice shomng signs of breaking where they were. Two boats' loads; 
were successfully ferried over through the broken ice, the floe rapidly passing to the 
eastward. The line gave way and another boat could not be sent back. Lieutenant 
Colwell and party, who were on that side attending to the transfer, had by this time- 
floated three-tourths of a mile away. They took what they could carry, and walked oni 
the floe to a point ojjposite our position. 

The dingy was sent and brought the party over. By this time more water had made 
and Private Murphy took Nicholas, the Eskimo, in the dingy, and by going about a mile 
and a half reached the point on the other floe where the stores were, and succeeded in 
bringing over one load, Nicholas having secured seven dogs. The dogs had scattered in 
all directions over the ice after being thrown over the ship's side, and, with the excep- 
tion of those caught by Nicholas, ran off". Sergeant Kenney, with three men from the 
"Proteus," whose bags were on that side, also made a successful trip in the ship's 
' ' punt ' ' through a lead which had now formed more to the eastward. I then proceeded 
to get things ready in case we had to suddenly quit the floe. 

The services of Lieutenant Colwell during this trying time cannot be overestimated; 
but for his courage and presence of mind one of the whale-boats would have been lost, 
which would have seriously embarrassed, if it did not prevent, a successful retreat. Dr. 
Harrison is also deserving of commendation for zeal displayed in saving provisions, 
clothing, &c. The men of my detachment worked as I never saw men work before, and 
were as cool and collected as if it were an every -day exercise. With the exception of 
the chief engineer of the ' ' Proteus, ' ' Mr. Carmichael, and the boatswain, Mr. Taylor, 
none of the crew lent any assistance to me in saving property. At the first alarm those 
on duty abandoned their posts and all rushed to look after their own property in the 
forecastle, and did nothing toward saving provisions until after their bags had been 
packed and safely put on the ice. As soon as the stores began to go over the ship's side, 
they commenced to appropriate anything that suited their fancy. Boxes were broken 
open and rifled, bags of private clothing were opened and contents stolen. Lieutenant 
Colwell lost all of his clothing after it had been thrown on the ice; he afterward recov- 
ered a portion of it from the possession of one of the assistant engineers of the ship. 
The crew, with two or three exceptions, seemed bent on robbing from the start, and 
apiieared to think it a matter of right that they should have any and everything they 
wanted. I think, however, that if their own officers had taken the proper stand, there 
would have been no difficulty in preventing the carrying into successful prosecution their 
stealing propensities. I protested to Captain Pike against this outrageous conduct; he 
admitted it, but said he was powerless to prevent it, saying: "they (the crew) are the 
worst lot of scoundrels I ever saw. ' ' The men of the crew were, of course, shipped 
under the English law for an English ship. They claimed that, as thek pay stopped 
when the shij) went down, their shipping articles were no longer in force, and that they 
owed no allegiance to the officers of the ship except what they choose to give. To assume 
control of the crew and to enforce disciplinary regulations necessary to a successful re- 
treat from our perilous position, force would have been necessaiy, and more force 
11 than I had at my command. To avoid this, as well as any resulting complications, I 
determined to keej} my men and stores separate and distinct, avoiding, if ijossible, 
any unnecessary collision, and, if a retreat to the southward should be decided upon, I 
would sail in company with and give to Captain Pike and his crew all assistance con- 
sistent with the safety of the whole party. I called his attention to the importance of 
saving all the j)rovisions possible, and of aliandoning all unnecessary articles. It was 
agreed that his men should be divided among his three boats, mine in two whale-boats, 
and that we should sail in company and work for the mutual good, the first objective 
point being the land. About 12 p. m. the chances looked quite favorable for making 
land. After consulting with Lieutanant Colwell, it was decided that he should take a 
whale-boat and make the attempt. As my own men were much exhausted and the 
crew of the "Proteus" were comparatively fresh, having done, really, little hard work 



206 APPENDIX 

during the day, I asked Captain Pike for a crew for the boat. In response to his call 
for men, only four signified their Avillingness to go. 

Lieutenant Colwell succeeded in making land, and in cacheing the provisions about 
three miles west of Cape Sabine. They were secured as well as circumstances permitted, 
and covered with a tent fly. This cache consisted of hard bread, tea, bacon, canned 
goods, tobacco, and sleeping bags, estimated at fi^e hundred rations. . This cache was 
not disturbed again. Lieutenant Colwell returned at 2 a. m. I took one of the men 
who had been with him, launched the other whale-boat and started for tlie land, but, 
after going half a mile, found all approaches closed, so returned and pulled the boats on 
the floe. I then directed the men to make themselves comfortable, and get all the rest 
they could, and waited a favorable time for making another attempt. This occurred at 
5 a. m. the 24th. At first I decided to launch all the boats and endeavor to reach the 
land, but after consialting with Lieutenant Colwell and Captain Pike, it was decided to 
send but one of my boats, and one of Captain Pike's. Soon after Lieutenant Colwell 
left, everything looked so favorable, and the pan we were on haAing begun to move to 
eastward, I determined to start at once ; Captain Pike also started two of his boats at 
the same time. It took a long time to make the distance to Cape Sabine, as I had only 
two men who knew how to row. The boat came near swamping on the way over, by 
reason of the plug in the bottom having been worked out of its place by boxes rubbing 
against it. I immediately unloaded the boat, left a man to watch the stores (a part of 
the "Proteus" crew being already there), and started back to the floe, one of^ Captain 
Pike's boats also returning. I found that all approaches to the floe werg cut olf, and 
now having but three men, it would be impossible to handle the boat in the ice. I 
therefore returned to Cape Sabine, and Captain Pike's boat alsoreturned. Lieutenant 
Colwell in the mean time had reached the floe, and at 9.30 a. m. returned to Cape Sabine, 
bringing eight of the crew of the ' ' Proteus ' ' besides ten of my own men. He reported 
great difficulty in getting out of the floe, Avhich was rapidly moving out to the eastward. 
When, after many failures, he at last found an opportunity to quit the floe, it became 
necessary to leave nearly all of the stores, which .he had been hauling about the floe with 
much difiiculty, in order that he might be able to bring away eight men of the crew of 
the ' ' Proteus, ' ' Avho had been left on the ice, against their most earnest protests, by the 
master and officers of that ship. It was impossible to launch the dingy, and it was left 
on the floe. Sergeant Kenney, Corporal Elwell, Artificer Moritz, and two men from 
the crew of the "Proteus" made another trip to the shore in the ship's "punt," and 
secured a load of provisions and clothing. Artificer Moritz brought back the dingy 
loaded, having pulled it alone for about four miles. None of the Eskimo dogs were 
saved. The ice was running very thick between the Cape and the floe, which was now 
passing away rapidly, and all further attempts to reach it were abandoned. At 12 
o'clock m., the 24th of July, every one was on the rocks at Cape Sabine; the boats 
12 were then hauled up and made as secure as possible. An inventory of the provis- 
ions showed about forty days' rations on hand. A large quantity of clothing, 
consisting of buftalo overcoats, fur caps and gloves, arctic overshoes, uniform clothing, 
and underclothing, &c. , was cached on Cape Sabine. 

The two sidereal chronometers were placed in this cache. Each man's allowance of 
baggage was fixed; one buffalo overcoat, one fur cap, one pairof mits, a suitof skin cloth- 
ing, and two changes of underclothing. All were very much exhausted, and I decided 
to do nothing until the men got at least a short rest. 

It rained lightly during the day, and towards evening a thick fog set in, which con- 
tinued until the afternon of the 25th. During the stay I visited Brevoort Island, and 
left the record appended and marked "E. " 

The prime object of the expedition was now defeated; what was the best course to 
follow to be able to accomplish something looking to the relief of Greely was the great 
problem to be solved. To have gone north in small boats was altogether impossible, and 
therefore ou.t of the question, and even had it been feasible would have been useless 
under the circumstances. If the Yantic should reach Littleton Island or Pandora Har- 
bor the question would become one of easy solution. I could get from her all the stores 
she could spare, including clothing, coal, and canvas, establish a station at Life-Boat Cove, 
remain there with two or three men, and send the rest of the party and crew of the Pro- 
teus to Saint John's. A sealer could then have been secured and sent north. But could 
she reach Littleton Island ? This was the point I had to settle in my mind from my 
knowledge of the condition of the ice as I found it on my way north from Disco Island, 
taken in connection with Commander Wildes' instructions as iar as I knew them. The 
Yantic crew was large, about one hundred and forty men, had a limited supply of pro- 
visions, and was not at all adapted to contend against the ice. It had taken the Pro- 
teus, specially built for ice navigation, three days to force her way through the ice in 
Melville Bay. The commander of the Yantic, as far as I was informed, had specific 
orders not to go into the ice, or to place his ship in any position which would risk hav- 



APPENDIX. 207 

ing to remaiu in those regioDS during the winter. When the ice through which the 
Proteus had passed off Labrador was described to Commander Wildes, when I met him 
in Godhavn in July, he said he would not have put the Yantic in it if he had encoun- 
tered it. And while I was confident that he would go to Littleton Island if he deemed 
it prudent aud consistent with the safety of his vessel and crew, I did not believe he 
would succeed in getting through Melville Bay where we had met so much ice. But I 
also thought if the conditions had changed in Melville Bay in the meantime, and if the 
Yantic should cross and reach Littleton Island, she would find my record, know of the 
disaster, and easily follow us along the coast and pick us up very soon; if she did not 
sight us on her way north. It was my honest opinion that the Yantic would not cross 
Melville Bay. I therefore determined to cross Smith Sound at the first favorable ojjpor- 
tunity and to proceed to the southward as rapidly as possible for the purpose of opening 
communication. There was a possibility of meeting relief at Cape York in the Swedish 
steamer Sofia. I considered the chances of her crossing Melville Bay more favorable than 
those of the Yantic, as she was smaller, properly equij)ped, and commanded by a master 
of extensive Arctic experience. 

While on Cape Sabine I took a large quantity of clothing from the crew of the Pro- 
teus, which they had taken from my supplies. They surrendered it with bad grace, not- 
withstanding that I explained to them the urgent necessity of leaving everything not 
absolutely needed for Lieutenant Greely's party. T afterward saw that they did not give 
up all they had in their possession. 

It cleared somewhat on the afternoon of the 25th of July, and at 3.20 p. m. all the 
boats were launched and under waj, the dingy being towed by Lieutenant Colwell's 

boat. 
13 Crossing the sound, fog becoming thicker, the boats became separated. My 

two .boats, after being worlcetl through a string of ice along shore, at 12 p. m. put 
into a small cove just north of Life-Boat Cove. I determined to remain there until it 
cleared. It was then raining. It snowed and rained all night. It cleared up the next 
morning, and we left for Pandora Harbor, stoijping at Littleton Island to leave a record 
(appended and marked " F "). Upon reaching Pandora Harbor at 7.50 p. m., we found 
Captain Pike's boats there, they having arrived during the morning. In the same cairn 
which I made on my way north, I now deposited another record (appended and marked 
" G "). We were detained here until the afternoon of the 28th by fog. At 4.45 p. m. 
we got under way, heading for Northumberland Island. 

At Eadcliff Point we were stopped by fog, but could not land. As the fog lifted we 
put into Sontag Bay, hoping to find a place to secure the boats ; it was full of ice and 
icebergs, among which we felt our way carefully, going entirely around the bay with- 
out finding a suitable place. There were several traps along the shore of the baj^, but 
no recent signs of Eskimo. Although the fog was very thick, it was necessary to go on. 
We reached Cape Saumarez before finding a place to haul up the boats. Having but 
two men in my crew at all versed in the management of a small boat, at this camp I 
asked Captain Pike to let me have one of his sailors, if he could recommend a good one. 
He willingly consented, and it was arranged that the boatswain, Taylor, should come 
the next morning. "When morning came Taylor told me that the rest of the crew ' ' were 
making so much fuss " he would have to remain with them, but finally, after some con- 
versation, he decided to come, notwithstanding their objections. He remained with me 
during the remainder of the boat journey, doing good and faithful service. The next 
morning, the 29th, at 5.45 a. m., we were under way, and after a long, weary pull on 
the oars, reached Northumberland Island at 7.10 p. m. We were delayed here by a 
strong easterly wind until the afternoon of the 30th. On this island were seen numerous 
signs of Eskimo, but all old. At 4.40 p. m. the wind subsided and allowed us to get 
under way, and the next morning we reached a point about seven miles north of Cape 
Parry, and were stopped there by the threatening outlook ahead. We were kept here 
two days by a heavy storm from the east, with snow. 

After consulting with Lieutenant Col well, I decided not to go to Carey Island, as orig- 
inally intended. He thought it would be extremely hazardous Avith our heavily -laden 
boats. We left this camp at 8.30 a. m., August 2. W^hen off" Fitzclarence rock we ran 
into "slack ice," and through it the rest of the day. We landed on Saunders' Island 
at 9.20 p. m., hauled up the boats, and made camp. There was a good deal of ice to 
the southward. On this island were numerous signs of Eskimo, from three weeks to a 
month old. There was also small igloos or huts, which had been inhabited at no very 
distant date. An Eskimo dog, with one fore foot tied up to his neck, was also seen. 
Some of the men found two oars, one marked "Active," the other "Polynia." We 
were delayed at Saunders' Island one day by the fog and running ice. 

I deposited a record in a prominent cairn (copy of it lost). The boats were launched 
and gotten under way at 5.30 p. ni., of the 4th. After making about seventeen miles 
wj were stopped by the ice at 12.30 a. m. The boats were hauled up on a convenient 



20S APPENDIX. 

point of rocks. Here I picked up a piece of a thermometer ; there were old signs of Es- 
kimo. At tliis place we were delayed by rain, fog, snow, and running ice iTutil the 7th 
of August. At 11 a. ni. of that day we got under way and ran through loose ice, which 
became closer as we proceeded, and very thick when opjjosite Potowik glacier. 

The leads of water rapidly closed. Finally, about 5.45 p. m., when abovit three- 
quarters of a mile from Conical rock, all openings through the ice closed, and the 

1 4 boats were comijletely j ammed. Every man was on the ice in an instant and by qui ck 
and heavy hauling all the boats were hauled up on a small pan of ice. After an 

hour's delay, a small lead to the southward opened, the boats were launched and worked 
through it by pulling and pushing. In a short time we reached Conical rock. The 
boats lay here while I went to the toj) of the island to make an examination of the con- 
dition of the ice to the southward. I discovered a lane of water following the general 
trend of the shore. Eeturniug to the boats, we ^gain started and proceeded with gxeat 
care and caution. Several times the boats narrowly missed being caught between the 
moving pans. It was impossible to reach the land at any time. During the night there 
was frost, and young ice formed from one-quarter to three-eighths of an inch in thick- 
ness. We succeeded in making land at 10.30 a. m. of the 8th. 

We remained here until the afternoon of the same day, when we launched the boats 
and made about five miles, when we were stopped by the ice about fourteen miles from 
Cape York. The boats were hauled up on shore and the ice almost immediately jammed 
into the shore, completely blockading us. The wind, which was from the east, and to 
which Ave looked to free us, completely subsided. The tide came and Avent out with- 
out changing the condition of affairs. We were now a' ery near Cape York, with no im- 
mediate prospect of being able to get our boats in the water. It was A'ery important to 
communicate with Cape York, for the purpose of finding out from the Eskimb there 
whether any ship was in tliat vicinity or Avhether any had passed north. It Avould be 
necessary to drag the boat for some distance on the ice, so I decided to a.sk Captain Pike for 
his "punt," a small, light, and strong boat, specially built for knocking about in the 
ice, to send on to Cape York with a small party. He consented to furnish the boat and 
three men. He met with some difSculty in getting men willing to go, but after some 
parleying one of his engineers and tAvo firemen signified their willingness to go; Artificer 
Moritz and Nicholas completed the creAA^ Lieutenant Colwell took charge of the boat 
and left for Cape York 9.30 a. m., ot the 9th. I instructed him to find out all he could 
from the Eskimo there, and if I did not join him Avithin a reasonable time, to return. 
It began to snow at 11 a. m. and continued, with occasional rain, until night. It then 
began to bloAV quite strong from the northeast, which droA-e the ice from the shore im- 
mediately in front of camp, but it still remained unbroken to the southward. Shortly 
after midnight an open lane of water formed, following the trend of the shore, and the 
boats were immediately launched. It became necessary to put into the land, after 
haAing made four or fiA'e miles, on account of a very strong head Avind. . After about 
three hours the wind moderated, and we were able to proceed. When about eight miles 
beyond Cape York, our attention was attracted by the repo:^t of a rifle fired on .shore. 
We immediately steered for the point whence the sound proceeded, and in a few min- 
utes arrlA^ed at Lieutenant Colwell' s camp. The evening before he had discovered some 
natiA^es on shore and had gone to comauunicate AAdth them. He reported that the camj) 
consisted of three men, four women, and nine children, and that they were well sup- 
plied with blul)ber and birds. With the aid of Nicholas he learned from them that 
there was no shi]? in the Aacinity at that time; beyond that he could ascertain nothing 
definitely. One of the men had seen ten ships going to the eastward, but whether that 
year or during his lifetime it was impossible to make out. A ship had stopjied there at 
some time, but when, that year or some preAious year, it was impossible to form an 
idea. They remembered Hans Christian, but had not seea him for a A'ery long time ; so 
we knew the Sofia had not been there. 

From them we understood that there was a large settlement farther up in Immelick 

Bay, and that Ave could secure the boats there. Thinking that I might be able to find 

out something more definite in regard to passing ships, I determined to go on. We 

went about eleven miles and Avere stopped by the ice, Avhich closed in rapidly and 

15 prevented our going further or returning. The boats were with difiiculty pulled 
up on the rocks. Very soon after we landed, seAcral natives came down from the 

rocks. I found it impossible to learn anything further than that the large settlement 
was inland some distance, and that they were there only temporarily. There were ten 
or twelve men in this party, no Avomen or children. They appeared kind and generous, 
giving away their blubber for fuel and offering birds for food. I gave them some hard 
bread and a few cans of meat. There seemed to be no scarcity of game, many reindeer 
bones, antlers, &c., lying about, and several large caches of the blubber of seal, AA'alrus, 
and white whale were found among the rocks. The natives themselves were strong and 
healthy-looking, comparing very favorably in appearance with the Eskimo of the more 



APPENDIX. 209 

southern settlements. They have no boats or kyacks, and travel entirely by dog sledge 
Their only weapon is a short spear; with this they kill all their game, including rein- 
deer and polar bear. We now realized that it would be necessary to cross Mehdlle Bay 
in the small boats, and after consulting with Lieutenant Colwell it was determined to 
load his boat as light as possible, and to send him directly to Disco at the first favorable 
opportunity, and that the other boats should proceed to Upernavik, keeping as close 
into the land as possible, on the outside of the ice. This course was decided upon be- 
cause it was thought the Yantic would not remain at Upernavik for any length of time, 
owing to the insecurity of the harbor, and that there was a strong probability of her 
leaving Disco before we could accomplish the distance hj following the more circuitous 
route, which was necessary for the more hea^dly loaded and less seaworthy boats. Lieu- 
tenant Colwell's instrtictions are appended, marked "I." We were delayed in that 
camp until the evening of the 12th, it having rained and snowed all the time. There 
was so much ice that it prevented the boats being launched at any time. 

At 7 p. m. , the 12th, a small lead having opened, the boats were put in the water and 
an attempt made to get out of the bay. We met with considerable difficulty, having at 
one time to haul the boats on the ice and drag them for some distance, but finally reached 
open water. 

At 1 a. m. on the 13th we landed very near the place where we had overtaken Lieu- 
tenant Colwell a few days before. At this point we were delayed until the 16th. The 
time was occupied in rigging the boats with weather cloths and wash streaks, under the 
supervision of Lieutenant Colwell. Sea anchors were also prepared and made ready to 
use at short notice. The bows of the two Avhale-boats, along the water-line, were 
sheathed with tin to protect them from the young ice. 

At 10 a. m. of the 16th, althou.gh still cloudy, the boats all left in company. At 1 p. 
m. we bade Lieutenant Colwell "good bye" and "good luck," his course taking him 
more to the southward. We made fair progress during the afternoon, and all night 
there was a heavy frost and frequent snow squalls. 

On the morning of the 18th ice began to offer more obstruction to progress; there were 
large fields of it, but for the most part ' ' slack. ' ' Icebergs were numerous. It snowed 
and rained at intervals during the day. The ice stopped us at 4 ]3. m., and it was nec- 
essary to retrace our course for several miles, then take a more southerly course. There 
was a heavy swell from the southeast all day ; the wind increased towards night and at 5 
p. m. was blowing a half gale and snowing hard. The sea was very high, the wind still 
blovraig from the southeast. It was extremely hazardous to keep the boats under way 
any longer, and they were made fast under the lee of a large iceberg. We remained 
here about an hour, when a large iceberg coming down upon us forced us to cut loose 
and seek another protecting berg. We lay on our oars among the ice, keeping under the 
lee of the larger pieces and out of their way until about 8 o'clock, when ^Ye succeeded 
in mooring the boats to a low berg. We remained here three hours; then the founder- 
ing of a very large berg in our immediate vicinity necessitated another move. 
16 We rowed about among the ice as best we could for two hours, when we reached 
a floe-berg and made fast under the lee of it. This afforded us shelter until the 
morning of the 18th. It snowed hard all night during the night of the 17th ; a soft, 
slushy snow, as bad as rain. There was also a heavy swell from the southeast. Finally, 
at 2 a. m. the 18th, the wind and sea moderated sufficiently to allow us to proceed on 
our course. After a hard drag on the oars all day we reached an island, supposed to be 
Thorn's Island, at 10.30 p. m. Here we landed and made canrp, having been in the 
boats sixty-one hours. There were some very old signs of Eskimos on this island. At 
9 o'clock next morning we were again under way. There was still much ice, but it was 
"slack;" icebergs also became more numerous. Many were foundering, and their hard 
fragments made it vejy dangerous na^dgation for small boats. We reached Browne's 
Island on the morning of the 20th and stopped there long enough to go ashore and pre- 
pare a hot meal. From a cairn on top of this the record of Sir .Tames Eoss, command- 
ing ships Enterprise and Investigator was taken. (Appended and marked "K.") This 
•cairn had remained undisturbed for thirty -five years. We left the island at 9 a. m. and 
steered for Eed Head, then in sight. Very soon we found ourselves in a perfect laby- 
rinth of icebergs of immense size, piled upon each other, and were continually found- 
■ering. My boat scarcely got from under one, over a hundred feet high, as it parted with 
the report of a 20-inch gun, making the water boil and seethe as it was ground into 
fragments. While endeavoring to steer the boat rapidly out of the way of a large piece 
of ice that day, Private Murphy lost his footing and went overboard. He was pulled 
into the boat without much difficulty, and experienced no ill effects from his arctic bath. 
At 9 p. m. we reached a group of small rocky islands, landed and made camp. It was 
now bright and clear for the first time since August 7th. 

On the 21st Private Ellis got an observation, which put this island in latitude 74° 51''. 
At 12.45 p. m. we again started, Aveather continuing fine. There was a great deal of 

S. Ex. 100— AP 14 



210 APPENDIX. 

ice, but slack ; also countless icebergs lying around the island and along the shore. Large 
glaciers lined the whole coast, and the mer-de-glace extended as far inland as the eye , 
could reach. 

At 7.30 a. m., the 22d, we reached Baffin Island, where we moored boats and landed 
to get breakfast. There had been long ago a large settlement of Eskimo on this island, 
as indicated by several ruins of stone igloos and many old graves; also by large num- 
bers of bones lying about. Some Arctic blueberries were found here, but not ripe. A 
thick heavy fog set in soon after arriving and prevented farther progress for the time. 
While lying here a very large berg, about three miles away, ibundered wdth a tremen- 
dous report, and produced a wave that broke the boats of Captain Pike from their moor- 
ings. At 7.30 p. m. we started under sail and passed Cape Shackleton at 2 a. m. At 4 
a. m. we saw a puif of smoke rising from an island ahead; it was e\idently a signal. 
Heading for it, we soon distinguished people among the rocks. We landed and found a 
party of Eskimo from Tessuissak with a whale-boat. The man in charge, who belonged 
to Upernavik and talked a little English, turned over to me two bags of ship's biscuits 
and two cans of coffee. From him I learned that Commander Wildes had heard of our 
disaster and had sent a lot of stores, of which these were a part, to Tessuissak; that he 
had been sent to this point to keep a lookout for my boats, deliver the provisions, and 
pilot us to Upernavik. He had been on the island six days. We left this island at 7.55 
a. m. , and a few hours later reached the most northern of the North Greenland settle- 
ments, Ivitarsuk, but did not stop. At 2.30 p. m. we reached Tessuissak. Here I re- 
ceived a letter from Commander Wildes, dated August 13, at Upernavik, saying: "I 
shall remain here as long as prudent, and then proceed to the coal mine at Godhavn. ' ' 
Governor Klieman delivered to us the supplies which had been sent up by Commander 
Wildes, fifteen days' rations for thirty-seven men. I determined to proceed 
17 to Upernavik, and although Captain Pike's men made some objection to getting 
under way before the next day, we all started at 6.10 p. m. We had a favorable 
wind and made fair progress, keeping inside the islands and piloted by the Eskimo from 
Upernavik, until we were stopped at 11.30 p. m. by the thickest fog I ever saw. After 
groping around in it for a short time we made an island but could not land, so we lay 
under its lee until 7 a. m. the 24th. The fog then lifted sufficiently for us to proceed on 
our course. Hundreds of icebergs were in Kikertarsoak Fjord, having been discharged 
by the Upernavik glacier. 

At 11.30 a. m. we reached Upernavik, to find the Yantic gone. Governor Elborg met 
me at the landing, and at once took me to his house and insisted upon my being his guest 
as long as I remained there, the minister, Mr. Christiansen, kindly inviting Dr. Harrison 
to become his guest. Governor Elborg, befoi-e my arrival, had a large comfortable house 
cleared out and ready for occupancy by my men and the crew of the Proteus, also a house 
for storing my property. These he at once placed at my disposal. The boats were se- 
cured, stores housed, and the men took possession of their neAv quarters. Governor El- 
borg informed me that anything in the way of clothing, rations, fuel, &c., that I wanted 
he would be too glad to furnish. I availed myself of his kind ofter to the extent ot 
getting some potatoes, tobacco, and coal. It was impossible for him to have been kinder, 
more obliging, or more thoughtful of our comfort. Here I learned the first news of 
Lieutenant Colwell since he left me on the 16th; he had arrived the day before, the 23d, 
and almost immediately started for Disco, transferring his crew to a small schooner 
kindly furnished by Governor Elborg. 

Governor Elborg gave me a letter from Commander Wildes, in which he said: "The 
time has arrived when I think it a serious risk to keep this ship in this high latitude. 
It is necessary to obtain coal at the mine at Disco, and the uncertainty of the weather 
and insecurity of the anchorage at that place make it doubtful if we can do much there. 
I shall remain in Godhavn until about September 15th, not later, and then proceed 
home." 

I decided to await here news from the Yantic, and in case she did not return to Uper- 
navik, to winter there with my party. The coast is very abrupt between Upernavik and 
Waigatt Strait, affisrding no harbor even for small boats, and the passage across Omenak 
Fjord in rough weather extremely hazardous, if not impossible, in open boats. While 
at Upernavik I inquired particularly as to how far north the Eskimo of that settlement 
and its dependencies had succeeded in going. There was no remembrance or legend, as 
far as could be ascertained, of any having gone beyond Cape Shackelton. No one at 
Upernavik knew anything of the old settlement on Baffin Island described to the gov- 
ernor by me. 

At no time within the memory of the oldest one of these people had they communi- 
cated with the Cape York Eskimo. This matter was looked into with a view to ascertain 
the feasibility of making a sledge journey to Cape York. I concluded it to be impracti- 
cable. I also examined into the report brought there by the Swedish steamer Sofia, of 
the death or killing of the "doctor"' of Greely's party, at first interpreted as referring 



APPENDIX. 211 

to Dr. Pavy, but afterward thought to refer to the commander or leader of the expe- 
dition. It appears that Hans Christian claimed to have been told by the Cape York 
Eskimo, while he was there on the Sofia, that the two Eskimo belonging to Lieutenant 
Greely's party had visited them, and had told them that the doctor of the party at Lady 
Fi-anklin Bay had been killed, his arms and legs cut off. There was another story pur- 
porting to have come from Hans Christian that the Cape York Eskimo had received their 
information from the natives living about Cape Ohlsen, who had received it from a party 
of white men on Littleton Island. The records of former Arctic expeditions show 

18 that full reliance cannot be placed upon the statements of Hans Christian, and I 
do not think, under the circumstances, that the least credit should be given to 

those which he makes now. There were no evidences at Cape Sabine, Littleton Island, 
Life- Boat Cove, Pandora Harbor, or other points visited by me that any one had visited 
that vicinity from the station of Lieutenant Greely, and I am confident that all sensa- 
tional stories which have been recently published in regard to himself and party are with- 
out foundation in fact. 

If any white men had come south from Lady Franklin Bay as far as Littleton Island, 
they would most certainly have left a record. It is not within the range of probability 
that the Eskimo belonging to Lieutenant Greely's party would have been sent or even 
allowed to come south alone, and it is quite certain that if they did reach the Eskimo 
settlements they would not have returned to Fort Conger. There are no Eskimo above 
Eensselaer Bay, nor, as far as I have been able to learn, do they go farther north. The 
Etah Eskimo do not cross Smith Sound, and there are no settlements on the west side. 
So the only possible means of communication would have been by a party from Fort 
Conger, and that there was no such communication is, in my opinion, certain. 

The " Yantic" arrived on the morning of the 2d of September; Lieutenant Col well 
had reached Godhavn on the 31st of August, (copy of his report appended and marked 
"L,") and Commander Wildes had at once started for Upernavik. 

My own party and the crew of the "Proteus " were soon aboard, and 1 p. m. steamed 
out of the harbor for St. John's, where we arrived on the 13th of September. As soon 
as possible I sent you the telegram notifying you of the fatal termination of the ex- 
pedition, and I need scarcely add. General, the sending of that telegram was the saddest 
duty I had ever been called upon to perform. 

Pursuant to telegraphic instructions, the " Yantic " left St. John's on September 20th 
with myself and party on board, and arrived in New York on the 29th. 

At Carl Eitter Bay there are two hundred and twenty-five rations (Greely): on Cape 
Collinson two hundred and forty rations (reported by Lieutenant Greely) ; at Cape Hawks 
about fifteen hundred rations (reported by Lieutenant Greely) ; at Cape Sabine seven 
hundred and fifty rations, a large cache of clothing, and a whale-boat in a damaged con- 
dition ; on a small island near Brevoort Island an English depot of about two hundred 
and forty rations; at Cape Isabella,, a whale-boat; and across the sound on Littleton 
Island, a depot of two hundred and fifty rations and six and one-half tons of coal. The 
next depot is on S. E. Cary Island, consisting of at least eighteen hundred rations and a 
whale-boat. This season there was game in abundance on both sides of Smith Sound. 
On the small islands about Cape Sabine there were ducks and gulls, and from Life-boat 
cove to Cape York the shore and islands were alive with ducks, lummes, and auks. 

About Littleton Island we saw at least one thousand walrus and some seal; in Pan- 
dora Harbor a white whale, and in the hills back of the harbor reindeer. There were 
also Arctic hare seen there and frequently afterwards along the coast. 

At Cape Athol, Artificer Moritz thought he saw a herd of musk oxen at a long distance, 
but they are more likely to have been reindeer. There were reindeer bones and antlers 
at each of the old Eskimo camps visited. The natives at Cape York reported reindeer 
very numerous about that place. I am of the opinion that if Lieutenant Greely should 
reach Littleton Island this season he will divide his people among the different Eskimo 
settlements, and the stores he will find on his line of retreat, supplemented by the 
game of that region, will be sufficient food for his party during the coming winter. 
Unless the condition of the ice permits Lieutenant Greely to leave Discovery Harbor 
in his boats, I do not think he will attempt the journey to Littleton Island this sea- 
son. Previous experience shows that a sledge journey in the fall of the year in that 

19 latitude is attended with so many diflSculties as to make it almost impossible. 
The attempt of the English expedition of 1 875-' 76 at fall sledging was abandoned 

in the face of insurmountable difiiculties. I think that the experience of two vrin- 
ters will have shoAvn to Lieutenant Greely the futility of making an effort to reach 
Littleton Island by sledges in the fall. The conditions for sledging in the spring are 
much more favorable. He has at Discovery Harbor a good house, plenty of fuel and 
provisions, with what game the country affords, to carry him to next spring. He could 
then start south as early as the state of the season permitted and reach Cape Sabine 
without much comparative difficulty. This will, in my opinion, be the course adopted 



2 1 2 APPENDIX. 

by Lieutenant Grreely, unless lie has found Lady Franklin Sound and Kennedy Channel 
free of ice, which is improbable. I take great pleasure in calling attention to the very 
valuable services of Lieut. J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy ; tx) his professional knowledge is 
added great energj^ and determination, and a sound practical j udgment, which qualities, 
Avith his experience of this year, eminently fit him for duty in the Arctic regions, and I 
earnestly recommend that his services be secured to command the relief vessel of the 
next expedition. The men of my detachment deserve the highest commendation for 
the cheerfulness and willingness with which they performed their onerous duties under 
the most trying circumstances, and I hope that the Chief Signal Officer will grant them 
such reasonable indulgence as they may ask. 

I desire to call your attention to the manifest injury done me in the publication of 
certain statements immediately after the news of the disaster reached here. These state- 
ments purporting to have been authorized from the Signal Office, were to the effect that 
I had been furnished with ' ' supplementary instructions ' ' prior to my departure from 
the United States, which instructions I had positively disobeyed. 

The only instructions I ever received are the original instructions published at the 
time. An unsigned written paper (with appendix "A" marked 5) was enclosed in the « 
enveloxje with my instructions. This paper is simply an unautlienticated copy of a 
memorandum prepared in your office. I was informed that this memorandum was to 
have been furnished the Secretary of the Navy to form the basis of instructions to be 
given the commander of the vessel ordered to accompany the Proteus ; when I found it 
among my instructions I at once carried it to you and called your attention especially to 
that clause relating to landing supplies on Littleton Island. You said, in substance, 
you did not know how that had gotten in there, and impressed upon me the necessity of 
carrying out, as far as possible, the instructions I had received. These instructions were 
based upon the letter of Lieutenant Greely (fii'st enclosure of appendix "A"), and you 
called my attention to the fact that Lieutenant Greely strongly urged that the officer 
commanding the relief party should have no "latitude of action. " The paper was not 
addressed nor signed ; indeed l^ore no official mark whatever. I did not then nor have 
I at any time since regarded it as an order, and I was surprised to find the statement 
published that this paper was the " supplementary instructions." 
I am, verv respectfulh% your obedient servant, 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 
1st Lieut., 7th Cav., A. 8. 0., Commanding. 

This paper is endorsed in ink "Appendix A." 

[Indorsed: 2-706. A. C. S. O. Mis., 188.3.] 
[Enclosure 1.] ■ 

A. 

FoET Congee, Geinnell Land, August llth, 1881. 
Chief Signal Officee of the Aemy: 

SiE: I have the honor to recommend that in connection with the vessel to visit this 
station in 1882 there be sent some captain of the merchant service who has had experi- 
ence as a whaler and ice-master. Five enlisted men of the Army are requested to re- 
place men invalided or who are found to be unfit otherwise for the work. One of the 
number should be a signal service sergeant. Sergeant Emory Braine, •2d Cavalry, and 
Sergeant Martin Hamburg, Company E, lOth Infantry, are recommended most highly, 
and without they are physically or morally unfitted within the year, their detail is re- 
quested. The two remaining men should be such as have had some sea experience. All 
the men should be rigidly examined as to their physical condition. The ice-master 
should be expected to see that every effort is made to reach this point by the vessel sent. 
In case the vessel cannot reach this point, a very possible contingency, a depot (No. "A") 
should be made at a prominent point on the east coast of Grinnell Land (west side of 
Smith Sound or Kennedy Channel) consisting of ninety-six cans chocolate and milk, 
ninety-six cans coffee and milk, one-half barrel of alcohol, forty-eight mutton, forty- 
eight beef, one keg rum, forty-eight cans sausage, forty-eight cans mulberry preserves, 
two barrels bread, one box butter, forty-eight cans condensed milk, one-half barrel onion 
pickles, forty-eight cans cranberry sauce, forty-eight cans soup, twenty-four cans toma- 
toes, one gross wax matches (to be in water-tight case), one- eighth cord of wood, one 
wall-tent (complete), one axe and helve, one whale-boat. At Littleton Island, careifully 
cached on the western point, out of ordinary sight, with no cairn, should be placed an 
equal amount (Depot "B"), but no boat. A notice as to the exact locality should be 




S. EX,./??--, t, 



7f- 



APPENDIX. 213 

23 left in the top of the coal (preferably in a corked and sealed bottle), buried a 
foot deep, which was left on that island. A second notice should be in the edge 

of the coal farthest inland, and a third in the Nares caiirn, now open, which is on sum- 
mit southwest part of island. 

The second boat should be left at Cape Prescott, or very near, in order that if boats 
are necessarily abandoned above that point one will be available to cross to Bache Island 
and go the southward. These boats should be not exceeding forty feet and not less than 
twenty above high-water mark, and their positions should be marked by substantial 
scantling well secured and braced, to the top of which a number of pieces of canvas 
should be well nailed, so that it may be plainly and easily seen. A second statf, with 
pieces of canvas, should be raised on a point which shows prominently to the northward, 
so a party can see it a long distance. Depots "A" and "B" should be made ready in 
Saint John's, and be plainly marked and carefully secured. 

The packages during the voyage should be easily accessible. Depot "A" should be 
landed at the farthest possible northern point. A few miles is important, and no south- 
iDg should be permitted to obtain a prominent location. The letters and dispatches 
should all be carefully soldered up in a tin case and then boxed (at Saint John's) and 
marked, or put in a well-strapped, water-tight keg, and should be left with depot "A," 
if such depot shall be at or north or in plain sight of Cape Hawks, and the newspapers and 
periodicals left at Littleton Island. If Dei»ot "A" is not so far north, the letters and all 
mail should be returned to the United States. After making Depot " B " at Littleton 
Island, the vessel should, if possible, leave a record of its pi'oceedings at Cape Sabine. If 
the party does not reach here in 1882, there should be sent in 1883 a capable, energetic 
officer, with ten (10) men, eight of whom should have had jiracticable sea experience, pro- 
vided with three whale-boats and ample provisions for forty (40) persons for fifteen 
months. The list of all provisions taken by me this year would answer exceedingly 
well. In case the vessel was obliged to turn southward (she should not leave Smith 
sound near Cape Sabine before September 15th), it should leave duplicates of Depots "A" 
and "B" of 1882 at two different points, one of which should be between Cape Sabine 
and Bache Island, the other to be an intermediate depot between two depots already 
established. Similar rules as to indicating locality should be insisted on. Thus, the 
Grinnell Land coast would be covered with seven depots of ten days' provisions in less 
than three hundred miles, not including the two months' supplies at Cape Hawks. 

The party should then proceed to establish a winter station at Polaris Winter Quar- 
ters, Life- boat Cove, where their main duty would be to keep their telescopes on Cape 
Sabine and the land to the northward. They should have lumber enough for house and 
observatory, fifty tons of coal, and complete meteorological and magnetic outfit. Being 
furnished with dogs, sledges, and a native driver, a party of at least six (6) men should 
proceed, when practicable, to Cape Sabine, whence a sledge party northward, of two best 
fitted men, should reach Cape Hawks, if not Cape Collinson. Such action, from advice, ex- 
perience, and observation, seems to me all that can be done to insure our safety. No devi- 
ation from these instructions should be permitted. Latitude of action should not be 
given to a relief party, who on a known coast are searching for men who know their plans 
and orders. 

I am, respectfully yours, 

(Signed) A. W. GEEELY, 

1st Lieut., 5th Cav., A. S. 0. and Asst., 

Comnimiding Expedition}. 

A true copy: 

Louis V. Caziaec, 

1st Lieut., 2d Art., A. S. 0. 

24 MEMORANDA OF DEPOTS CONTAINING SUPPLIES LOCATED IN SMITH SOUND AND 

KENNEDY CHANNEL. 

Southeast Carey Island. — One whale-boat and depot of provisions. (Expedition Sir 
George Nares, 1 875. ) 

Visited in 1881 by Lieutenant Greely, and supplies reported in good condition. 

Littleton IsJand. — Six and one-half tons of coal on low^ ground, southwest side of island, 
facing Cape Alexander. (Greely's expedition, 1881.) 

Two hundred and fifty rations left in cache well secured. (Expedition, 1882. ) 

Cape Sahine. — Small depot of two hundred and forty rations (Nares' expedition, 1875) 
reported by Lieutenant Greely, but not visited by him. 

Visited by expedition, 1882, and reported in good condition. 

One whale-boat, one-eighth cord of birch Avood, and two hundred and fifty rations left 
in cache well secured and covered. (Expedition, 1882.) August 31. 



214 APPENDIX. 

Cape Hawks. — Small depot, consisting of bread, two kegs pickles, two kegs rum, two 
barrels stearine, one barrel preserved potatoes. (Nares' expedition, 1875.) 

Eeported serviceable by Lieutenant Greeh^ (Expedition, 1881.) 

Cape CoUinson. — Small depot of two hundred and forty rations (Nares' expedition, 
1875) reported by Lieutenant Greely, 1881, but cache not visited. 

Carl Bitter' Bay. — Small depot of two hundred and twenty-five bread and meat rations 
on first bench from the sea, northeast part of the bay. (Lieutenant Greely's expedition, 
1881.) 

Thank God Harbor. — Depot containing supplies, amount and condition unknown-. 
(Hall's expedition, 1874.) 

Cape Isabella. — One whale-boat. (Expedition, 1882.) 

Highest latitude reached by expedition of 1882, 79° 20^ north, August 10. 

Highest point at which landing was possible, Cape Sabine, August 31, 1882. 

31 [Endorsed: 5.7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Enclosure 4.] 

Saint John's, Newfoundland, May 26, 1883. 
This agreement, made by I. & W. Stewart, owners of the good steamship Proteus, bur- 
then per register 467 tons net, or thereabouts, Eichard Pike, master, parties of the first 
part, and General W. B. Hazen, now in Saint John's aforesaid, Chief Signal Officer of 
the Army of the United States of America, and acting on behalf of the Government of 
the United States, party of the second part, witnesseth : 

That the parties to the first part agree that, in consideration of the terms hereinafter 
set forth, the said steamship or vessel being light, staunch, and strong, and in 

32 every way fitted for the voyage hereinafter described, shall be ready for the said 
voyage and shall be at the disposal of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army of the 

United States from the fourteenth day of June, 1883, when the voyage shall be construed 
to have begun, and the said party of the second part hereby, in consideration of the afore- 
said, contracts to pay for the use of said vessel for at least three and a half months at 
the rate of six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) per month of thirty days, in Newfoundland 
urrency, at one and one-half per cent, premium, being difference of exchange; the said 
party of the second part further agrees that the said compensation shall be paid at the end 
of each month by draft on the office of the Chief Signal Officer, Army of the United 
States, the first draft to be made payable fourteenth of July, 1883. 

It is also mutually agreed by the parties hereto that should the said vessel be de- 
tained on the said voyage beyond the time stipulated, then the same rate of six thousand 
dollars per month shall be paid for her until her return to Saint John's, Newfoundland, 
the said expenses to be paid at the end of each month as is herein provided for the pay- 
ment of the compensation, and that, in the event of the loss or abandonment of said ves- 
sel, the party of the second part shall continue and pay the stipulated hire monthly until 
the arrival of any portion of the crew in Saint John's aforesaid. 

It is further agreed by the parties of the first part to provide all necessary food and 
provisions for the force accompanying the relief expedition or returning from Lady Frank- 
lin Bay, said food to be equal to the usual ship's fare and to be furnished at the rate of 
four dollars ($4.00) per week of seven days each, in Newfoundland currency, for each 
individual comprising said force, and the party of the second part agrees to pay for the 
food thus furnished at the same time, and in the same draft, that final payment is 
made for use of said vessel. 

It is hereby further mutually agreed, that in the event of the force of Lady Franklin 
Bay (Fort Conger, Discovery Harbor) being in need of coal, the said parties of the first 
part will deliver to said force, or at points designated by the agent of the Chief Signal 
Officer, such quantity as may be needed to the amount of seventj^ (70) tons, at the rate 
of four dollars ($4.00) per ton, in Newfoundland currency, to be dr'iwn for upon the re- 
turn of the vessel to Saint Jolui's. 

It is agreed by the party of the second part, that persons constituting the relief force 
shall render the captain and crew of the said vessel all the assistance in their power to ex- 
pedite the landing of supplies at all points where landing shall be made. 

It is further agreed that Lady Franklin Bay ( Fort Conger, Discovery Harbor) is the 
extreme northern point which it is desired that the vessel aforesaid shall reach, but if 
the master of the vessel, and the officer or agent representing the Chief Signal Officer 
aforesaid, after consultation, shall agree that it is impracticable to reach said bay by 
reason of ice barriers, lateness of season, or any other insurmountable obstacle, then the 
said Richard Pike, master aforesaid, may leave Smith Sound (or the northernmost point 
attainable) to return to Saint John's aforesaid, not earlier than September 1st, 1883, 
and he shall discharge and cache stores, as may be required by the agent of the Chief 



APPENDIX. 215 

Signal Officer aforesaid. The parties of the first part hereby agree that this contract 
shall be performed by them. 

The act of God, tha Queen's enemies, fire, and all and every other danger and accident 
■of the seas, rivers, and navigation of vrhatsoever kind and nature, always excepted. The 
parties of the first part further agree that they will pay to the agent of the Chief Signal 
Officer, Army of the United States, as a penalty for non-performance of this contract, the 
sum herein agreed to be paid by the officer of the Chief Signal Officer aforesaid, for the 

use of said vessel for the period of three and a half months. 
33 Signed, executed, and delivered at Saint John's, Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth 

day of May, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. 

(Signed) W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Officer^ U. S. Army, 
p. p. I. & W. STEWART. 
J. SYME. 
Witnesses: 

(Signed) Jas. Cody. 

Thos. Molloy, 
[seal.] U. S. Consul. 

A true copy: 

Louis V. Caziarc, 

Isi Lieut., 2d Art, A. S. 0. ' 

Note.— This paper was also endorsed, in ink: 1-4919, P. D. O. C. S. O. 1883. " A. " 



[Endorsed: 7.7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

B. 

MEMORANDUM OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN LIEUTENANT GARLINGTON, U. S. ARMY, 
AND COMMANDER WILDES, U. S. NAVY. 

Yantic to proceed to sea with the Proteus and remain in company as long as possible. 
Yantic will proceed to Disco tinder sail, will leave letters for Lieutenant Grarlington at 
Disco and Upernavik. 

Cairns enclosing bottles or tins will be left at Cape York, S. E. Carey Island, or Hak- 
luyt Island, Pandora Harbor, and Littleton Island. Yantic vpill remain in Pandora 

Harbor not later than August 25, Disco not later than September 20. 
34 Lieutenant Garlington to leave letters in Disco and Uiiernavik and records on 

S. E. Carey Island, or Hakluyt Island, Littleton Island, and Pandora Harbor if 
entered. 

Proteus to endeavor to communicate with Yantic at Pandora Harbor before August 25. 
Should Proteus be lost, push a boat or party south to Yantic. 

Pandora Harbor will be headquarters, but before departure Yantic will run up to Lit- 
tleton Island. 

[Endorsed: 8.7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

C. 

INTERNATIONAL POLAR EXPEDITION TO LADY FRANKLIN BAY, FITTED OUT BY THE 
WAR DEPARTMENT, UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF GENERAL W. B. HAZEN, CHIEF 
SIGNAL OFFICER UNITED STATES ARMY, AND COMMANDED BY IST LIEUTENANT A. 
W. GREELY, 5TH CAVALRY, A. S. O. AND ASST. 

Left in the steamship Proteus, island off Upernavik, 7 p. m., July 29, 1881, and at 7 
a. m. July 31, stopped by heavy fog about six miles south of land supposed to be Cape 
York. Middle passage taken and found to be entirely unobstructed by ice. All well. 
This notice deposited August 1, 1881. 

(Signed) J. B. LOCKWOOD, 

Lieut. 23d Inf., U. S. Army, M Officer. 



216 APPENDIX, 

[Memoranda.] 

One keg of biscuits opened and found mouldj'. One can of beef opened and found 
good. Stores generally found apparently in same condition as when deposited here in 
1875. 

(Signed) • J. B. LOCKWOOD, 

Lieut., U. S. Army. 

COPY OP THE COPY OF THE RECORD OF SIR GEORGE NARES. 

Arctic Expedition, July 27, 1875. 
H. M. S. Alert at Carey Island. 

Any one finding this depot of provisions and boat is requested not to appropriate it to 
their own use. The depot is deposited by the English Arctic expedition of 1875, for use 
in the event of the crews of the ships having to travel south to Upernavik. The Alert 
and Discovery passed through the middle ice in two days. They leave for Smith Sound 
at 6 a. m. this morning. 

(Signed) G. S. NAEES, 

Capt. R. N. , in command of the Expedition. 

A true copy of the original taken this 1st day of August, 1881, by expedition under 
Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U. S. Army, for whose record see bottle herewith. 

COPY OF endorsement OF LIEUTENANT GARLINGTON. 

United States Eelief Expedition, 

4jj. m., 21st July, 1883. 
Left Godhavn, Disco Island, 16th July, 1883. Encountered pack 18th July in lat. 
74° 40^, long. 61° 30^, steamed through it in various directions until fifteen miles south 
of this island. Open water to the north. Depot apparently same as left in 1881. Opened 
two barrels of bread; one spoiled, one a little mouldy, but eatable, and two cans of beef; 
one good, one spoiled. 

E. A. GAELINGTON, 
1st Lieitf., 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding. 

35 [Endorsed : 9-7076. O. C. S. O. Mis. ' 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

D. 

Steamer Proteus, 
TJnUed States Belief Expedition, 22d July, 1883. ■ 
At 6 a. m. we are rounding Cape Alexander, and will enter Pandora Harbor to leave 
this record. No ice met between Carey Island and this point, and none to be seen to the 
north from the "crow's-nest" with the aid of a powerful telescope. Weather perfect^ 
if it continues I^will go directly north and not stop at Littleton Island to leave a record^ 
for it takes but a very short time to change the aspect in these regions. 

(Signed) E. A. GAELINGTON, 

1st Lieut., 1th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding.. 

[Endorsed: 10-7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

. [Copy.] 

E. 

United States Eelief Expedition. 

Cape Sabine, 2^th July, 1883. 
The steamer Proteus was nipped midway between this point and Cape Albert on 
the afternoon of the 23d instant, while attempting to reach Lady Franklin Bay. She 
stood the enormous pressure nobly for a time, but had to finally succumb to this meas- 
ureless force. The time from her being ' ' beset ' ' to going down was so short that few 
provisions were saved. A depot was landed from the fioe at a point about three 
miles from the point of Cape Sabine as you turn into Buchanan Strait. There were five 
hundred rations of bread, sleeping bags, tea, and a lot of canned goods; no time to 



APPENDIX. 217 

classify. This cache is about thirty feet from the water line, and twelve feet above it 
on the west side of a little cove under a steep cliff. Rapidly closing ice prevented its 
being marked by a flag-staff or otherwise; have not been able to land there since. A 
cache of two hundred and fifty rations in same vicinity left by the expedition of 1881 ; 
visited by me and found in good condition, except boat broken by bears. There is a 
cache of clothing on point of Cape Sabine, opposite Brevoort island, in the "jamb " of 
the rock, and covered with rubber blankets. The English depot on the small island 
near Brevoort Island in damaged condition ; not visited by me. There is a cache of two 
hundred and fifty rations on the northern point of Littleton Island, and a boat at Cape 
Isabella. All saved from the Proteus. The U. S. steamer Yantic is on her way 
to Littleton Island with orders not to enter the ice. A Swedish steamer will try to 
reach Cape York during this month. I will endeavor to communicate with these ves- 
sels at once, and everything within the power of man will be done to rescue the brave 
men at Fort Conger fi-om their perilous position. 

The crew of the Proteus consisted of Captain Pike and twenty-one men; my own 
party of Lieut. J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy, Acting Assistant Surgeon J. S. Harrison, five 
enlisted men of the line of the Army, two Signal Service men, three Newfoundlanders, 
and two Eskimo. 

It is not within my power to express one tithe of my sorrow and regret at this fatal 
blow to my efforts to reach Lieutenant Greely. 

I will leave for the eastern shore just as soon as possible, and endeavor to open com- 
munication. 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 
Isf Lieut., 7th Cav.,A. 8. 0., Commanding. 

36 [Endorsed: 11-7070. O. C. S. O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

F. 

United States Relief Expedition, 

Littleton Island, 26th July, 1883. 
My party, consisting of Lieutenant Colwell, U. S. Navy, Dr. J. S. Harrison, seven 
enlisted men, U. S. Army, three civilian employes, and two Eskimo, arrived here at 5 
p. m. to-day from a very rocky inlet above Life-Boat Cove in two whale-boats and hav- 
ing dingy in tow ; very thick fog on way over and sea quite rough. Boats behaved ad- 
mirably, considering the strains to which they have been put, dragging them over the 
floes, rocks, &c. This party was in the steamer Proteus, of Saint John's, Newfound- 
land, chartered by the United States Government, going to the relief of Lieut. A. W. 
Greely, U. S. Army, at Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land. The steamer was crushed 
in the ice between Cape Sabine and Cape Albert, Bache Island, on the afternoon of 
the 23d instant. All saved. Much provisions gotten over side of ship, but a great 
quantity went under before it could be removed a sufficient distance from the ship for 
safety. Five hundred pounds of hard bread, sleeping bags, and assorted subsistence 
stores were landed from the floe about three miles from Cape Sabine around point to- 
wards Bache Island. There is also a cache, made last year, along same shore. The de- 
pot was secured as well as possible. Ice was rapidly closing, heavy, &c. A quantity of 
clothing was left on extreme point of Cape Sabine, and one barrel of beef^ — all poorly 
secured for same reason as above. I am making for the south to communicate with the 
U. S. steamer Yantic, which is endeavoring to get up. Every effort will be made to 
come north at once for the Greely party. The Yantic cannot come into the ice, and she 
has a crew of one hundred and forty-six men. So will have to get another ship. Every- 
thing will be done to get as far north as possible before the season closes. Ice thick and 
heavv. Calm to-day, and I am in a great hurry to take advantage of it and tide. 
(Signed) E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut., 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding. 

[Endorsed : 12-7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 
[Copy.] 

a. 

United States Relief Expedition, 

Pandora Harbor, July 27, 1883. 
Arrived here at 7.50 last evening with two whale-boats and one dingy in tow. Lieut, 
J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy, Dr. J. S. Harrison, seven enlisted men, U. S. Army, three 



218 APPENDIX. 

civilian employes, two Eskimo, and self, composing party. Captain Pike, of the steamer 
Proteus, and his crew (twenty-two men) are also in this harbor. The Proteus was 
crushed in the ice about six miles from Cape Sabine, magnetic bearing from Cape Sabine 
.about S. by E. 1-2 E., on the afternoon of the 23d inst. All saved. I have forty days' 
full rations for my party. Will go south, keeping close into shore as possible, and call- 
ing at Carey Islands, to Cape York, or until I meet some vessel. Hope to meet U. S. 
steamer Yantic, or the Swedish steamer Sofia, which should be about Cape York. 
Weather since wreck has been foggy, and at times some rairi, delaying progress very 
much. Party are well and in good spirits. Will leave here at 5 a. m. to-morrow ; de- 
tained all day by fog. 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 
Is^ Lieut. ^ 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding. 

37 [Endorsed: 13-7076. O.C.S.G. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

H. 

United States Relief Expedition, 
Immelick Bay, Near Cape York, 12th August, 1883. 

The steamer Proteus, Saint John's, Newfoundland, Captain Pike, chartered by the 
United States Government to carry relief expedition under my command to Lady Frank- 
lin Bay, Grinnell Land, was caught in pack six miles NNW. ^ W. from Cape Sabine, 
and was crushed, sinking at 7.30 p. m., on the 23d July, 1883. The crew and relief 
party all saved, and also about forty days' provisions for all hands, together with a lot 
of fur and other clothing. My party fitted out, and the rest left in a cache on the point 
of Cape Sabine. A cache of provisions and twelve sleeping bags left at a point along 
northern shore of Cape Sabine, about three miles from point of the cape. This cache 
contains about four hundred pounds of hard bread, canned meats, fruits, and bacon suf- 
ficient to make full load for whale-boat. A large quantity of stores went down under 
the sides of the ^'essel after being thrown overboard ; much had necessarily to be aban- 
doned on the floe, and it was impossible to secure all of it afterwards, although several 
boat-loads were secured subsequent to leaving floe. The party made a lauding on Cape 
Sabine on the morning of the 24th July, and remained there until the evening of the 
25th, when the ice opened sufficiently to allow our leaving, but closed in almost before 
we got under way. Pike's men in three boats, my party in two whale-boats, Colwell's 
boat towing dingy. 

We crossed Smith Sound and made land just above Life-Boat Cove at 12.30 p. m. in a 
dense fog. Remained there until next day and made Pandora Harbor at 7.50 p. m., 
which place Pike's l)oats had reached the night before; from that point we have come 
liere, having been delayed by bad weather, fogs, and ice more than half the time. Just 
north of Conical Rock we were "jammed" in the ice and had to drag the boats on a 
* ' pan. ' ' Things looked very dubious for a time. 

From this point Lieutenant Colwell with second whale-boat goes direct to Disco, as 
it is probable that U. S. steamer Yantic will be in that vicinity ; the ice having prevented 
her progress north, and the harbor at Upernavik not admitting of a long stay at that 
place. I, with Pike's party, will go hence to Upernavik (his party not being well 
equipped with boats), keeping as close in to shore as possible, but on the outside of the 
ice. In the event of no ship coming to my relief I will winter at Upernavik and divide 
my party among the neighboring settlements. 

Everybody well and in good spirits. With God's help we all ho])e to reach port iu 
safety in good time. 

,E. A. GARLINGTON, 
1st Lieut., 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commander. 

First whale-boat: E. A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry, U. S. Army; Dr. J. S. Harrison, 
acting assistant surgeon; Sgt. John Kenney, I Ti'oop, 7th Cavalry; Private J. J. Murphy, 
F Company, 11th Infantry; Private R. F. Rogge, 3d Infantry; Pvt. F. W. Ellis, Signal 
<]orps observer; Nicholas, Eskimo, from Godhavn; George Taylor, boatswain of the Pro- 
teus ; F. J. Huostul, Newfoundland. 

Second whale-boat: Lieut. J. C. Colwell, U. S. Navy; Corpl. Frank Elwell, 3d Infantry; 
Artificer O. E. Moritz, 17th Infantry; Pvt. W. H. Lamar, Signal Corps observer; George 
A. Wight, A. F. MacDonald, Newfoundland; David, Eskimo, from Disco fjord. 



APPENDIX. 219 

8 [Endorsed: 11-7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 
I. 

United States Relief Expedition, 

C'fl/pe York, August 12th, 1883. 
Lieut. J. C. COLWELL, U. S. Navy: 

Sir: Having volunteered for the duty, you will, veitli your boat and crew^ as novr con- 
stituted, except Dr. J. S. Harrison, acting assistant surgeon, U. S. Army, proceed, at 
the first favorable change in the weather, hence to Godhavn, Disco Island, endeavoring 
to communicate with the U. S. steamer Yantic, which is supposed to be somewhere 
along the Greenland coast. When the Yantic is found, representation of the present 
state of affairs will be made to Commander Wildes, and of the proposed route of retreat 
•of the rest of the party by way of Upernavik. In the event of the Yantic's having 
gone south, you will endeavor to make arrangements with any ship which may be at 
Disco, or neighboring settlements, to come to the relief of my party. The Swedish ship 
Sofia, or some of the Danish ships may still be in the vicinity of Godhavn. In case 
all the ships have gone south, you will make the best arrangements for wintering at 
Godhavn with your party, taking advantage of the first opportunity to communicate 
with me at Upernavik, state of your party, and such other information as you deem 
desirable [advisable^]. You will, however, not send a sledge party for the purpose 
specially. If no ship comes to our relief, I will Avinter at Upernavik and divide party 
among the neighboring settlements. In the equipment of your boat, personal baggage 
and provisions, you will be governed by your judgment of the necessities of the case. 

Wishing you a successful trip, and as pleasant and comfortable one as the conditions 
will allow, 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. GARLINGTON, 
1st Lieut., 7th Cav., A. S. 0., Commanding. 

[Endorsed: 15-7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 

[Copy.] 

K. 

H. M. S. Enteepeise and Investigatoe, 

Qth of August, 1848, Lat. 75 1-4, Long. 59. 
Placed in a cairn erected on (the supposed) Browne Island. Officers and crews all 
well, and prospects of a speedy passage satisfactory. 

(Signed) JAS. C. EOSS, 

Commander of Expedition. 

Whoever finds this paper is requested to forward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, 
London, with a note of the time and place at which it was found ; or, if more convenient, 
to deliver it for that purpose to the British consul at the nearest port. 

[Endorsed: 16-7076. O.C.S.O. Mis. 1883.] 



Washington, D. C., October 9, 1883. 
Sir: In accordance with your request, I beg leave to submit the following report of 
the movements of the second whale-boat and the party under my command after sep- 
arating from you at Cape York: 

Leaving Cape York on the morning of August 16, we kept together while working 
39 out through the ice until, at 1 p. m., open water was visible to the southward. I 
then parted company, pulling off" to the southward, got into open water shortly 
after, and set foresail to fresh west-northwest breeze. Steered south-southeast (true) for 
Upernavik, and at 1.30 p. m. lost sight of all the other boats, under sail, well together, 
and steering about east. They were in range with Bushman's Island, and bore north. 
At 2 p. m. I met the edge of another pack, extending to northward and eastward as 
far as I could see, and kept oft* to southward to keep inside the broken ice on its western 

* Corrected in blue in the original. 



220 APPENDIX, 

edge. Wind increasing to moderate gale, with frequent snow squalls ; close reefed the 
foresail. About 4 p. m., the soutK edge of the pack trending off to the northward and 
eastward, I left the ice and again set course for Upernavik. While inside the edge of 
the pack the swell was considerable, but the seas did not break. After leaving it I en- 
countered a short, heavy, breaking sea, wind still increasing from west-northwest, until, 
at 6 p. m. , no ice was in sight, with the exception of a few distant, scattered bergs. By 
that time I was unable to longer steer my course, and was obliged to run before the gale 
and heavy, breaking sea. 

Three of my crew ^Yere very sea-sick, and the Eskimo too frightened to understand 
any English; so I was reduced to two men, and right well thej' stood to their work. 
The weather brightened slightly towards midnight, and I saw land to the northward and 
eastward, but by 1 a. m., August 17, it was again overcast and thick, snow squalls at 
frequent intervals, wind, however, moderating and hauling to west. At 4 a. m. I gave 
the tiller to Wight and lay down until 6 a. m., snowing heavily in the mean time, but 
Avind decreasing to light breeze. By burning some alcohol in a tin can I made a pot of 
tea and warmed some canned meat, the first we had had to eat since starting, with the 
exception of some wet hardtack. 

The wind hauling to southward and eastward, shook reef out of foresail and set main- 
sail after breakfast, making east coarse on the wind. Sea still rough and irregular, but 
not breaking. Sighted land ahead at 9.30 a. m. Wind freshened towards noon and 
weather looked very threatening to southward and eastward. Close reefed both sails, 
but was obliged to take in the mainsail soon alter. Sea getting up; headed for a small 
island in sight to northward and eastward, but missed it in a thick snow squall which 
came up about noon. Sighted it again about 1 p. m., but found mjself a mile to the 
leeward of it with too heavy a sea to attempt to pull against. Ean for a line of icebergs 
to northward and eastward, to get out of the heavy sea and constantly increasing wind, 
and at 3 p. m. made fast to a small berg. Snowing heavily, with constantly increasing 
gale until midnight. I was obliged to cast off my boat and pull to a safer place four 
times, on account of the berg breaking, or the too close approach of neighboring ones,, 
giving the men a longer pull each time than- was really necessary, to j)revent their get- 
ting benumbed by the cold and wet. I finally made fast to a flat berg with a large 
mound in its center, which lasted us six hours, until the gale broke. When I made fast 
to it it was about one hundred and fifty yards long, but by masses breaking from it, was 
reduced to barely fifty j^ards, when I finally left it. While fast to the bergs I kept the 
bow oarsman with an axe ready to cut the painter in ease of sudden danger, but fortu- 
nately, we always had timely warning to leave. 

During all this time the unfailing courage of the men and their cheerful readiness to 
comply with any call I made on them, exhausted as they were from loss of sleep, sea- 
sickness, and constant exposure, wet to the skin for two days, and not knowing what 
minute might be their last, are evidences of a spirit deserving the highest commendation. 

The [For""] fourteen hours they sat on the thwarts, the oars out ready to pull at a 

moment's notice, dozing over their oars as they were able, covered with snow, and the 

boat snowed full, the constant crash sounding in their ears of the hundreds of 

40 bergs driven by l)efore the gale, grinding together and foundering in all directions, 

and not a despondent word or other than attempts at cheerful remarks from any 

of them. 

About 1 a. m., August 18, I started a fire with some alcohol in a tin and managed 
to warm some bacon and a little water for tea, which, with a couple of doses of whisky 
during the night, prevented their becoming too much exhausted. 

At 4.30 a. m. snow stopped, wind moderated, and clouds commenced to break to west- 
ward. Saw land to eastward, and recognized the locality as being off Thom Island, in 
Melville Bay, near the place the Proteus was stopped on her way north on July 19. 
Cleared snow out of the boat, and at 5.30 a. m. started, under oars, pulling to the SE. 

A few miles to northward of my position the bergs, driven in by the gale, were packed 
together as solidly as a glacier face, and the view was blocked by them in every direc- 
tion. 

Pulled along through the bergs against a moderate head wind, getting a couple of 
hours' sleep during the forenoon. About 3 p. m. a light NE. breeze came up, made sail 
to it and allowed all the crew to sleep. At midnight we were off Cape Seldon, about 
forty miles distant, and still among many bergs, with occasional strings of lump ice from 
the bergs. 

The men were divided into two watches, the three strongest in one watch, with Cor- 
poral Elwell in charge, the other three in my watch. Pulled watch and watch at night, 
all hands Irom 8 a. m. to 8 p. m., and this arrangement was kept up until I reached the 
Yantic. Saw the sun set below the horizon at 11.30 p. m. on this evening. 

* Corrected in blue in the original. 



APPENDIX. 22 L 

Sunday, August 19, shortly after midnight passed a rocky islet one-fourth mile long 
in N. and S. direction, by one hundred and fifty yards wide, and standing about twenty 
feet out of water. 

Wind increased and hauled to southward shortly after. Could make nothing work- 
ing to windward, so at 3 a. m. took in sail and tried to pull to eastward, but the wind 
and sea were too much for the exhausted men. Ean back to the small islet passed at 
midnight, arriving at 9 a. m. The rock was perpendicular on its leeward side and about 
twelve feet high. Tied the boat by her painter, keeping her clear with a couple of oars. 
Started an alcohol fire on the rock and had a meal, the men taking advantage of the 
opportunity to stretch themselves on the rocks and get a short nap. I found a very old 
moss-covered cairn in a hollow in the center of the islet with one very old bone lying 
near by. Approximate magnetic bearings from this islet : Red Head, SSW. ; Cape Sel- 
den, SSE. i E. ; Cape Walker, E. ^S- ; a smajl islet, NNE., about ten miles, and another 
about ten miles SSE., in a line with Cape Selden. Left a record in a tin can in a small 
cairn on the summit of this rock, and replenished the water supply from the melted 
snow in the crevices. 

Wind falling light, left at 11.30 a. m. and pulled in for Red Head. Wind dying out, 
changed course at 3 p. m. to SSE. (trrm). Made sail at 6 p. m. to light E. breeze, very 
many bergs and occasional strings of lump ice. Sailed along all night and until 11 a. 
m., August 20, when, being headed oft' to SW., took in sail and manned oars, pulling in 
for Devil's Thumb, which I did not sight until 7.30 p. m. Heavy swell from southward 
during forenoon and first part of afternoon, until I got in among a great many bergs and 
lump ice off the coast. At midnight Wilcox Head bore E. (true). 

Pulled along until 1 a. m. August 21, when made sail to light N. breeze, steering SSE. 
Carried sail until 7 a. m., when it again fell calm and oars were manned. Bright, pleas- 
ant day. Pulled until 4.30 p. m., when made sail to light NNW. breeze. A heavy fog 
bank, coming up from northward and westward, shut down thick at 6 p. m. Wind 
failed at 7 p. m. ; manned oars and pulled for passage between Baffin Island and main land. 
Dense fog until 9 p. m., when it lifted sufficiently for me to see the neighboring 
41 land and that I was in the channel I was steering for. Calm and thick fog at in- 
tervals until midnight ; weather A-ery cold. August 22 commenced clear and 
cold, fog in patches. Made sail to gentle N. breeze at 2 a. m. At 4 a. m. found we had 
run in among a lot of high, uncharted islands off a large glacier. Great numbers of 
berg-s and quantities of lump ice frozen together in solid sheets in places. At 5 a. m. 
wind died away ; manned oars and pulled to southward and westward to get clear of 
ice. Struck the swell of open water clear of the islands at 9 a. m. Set foresail to fresh 
NNW. breeze which came up about 9.30 a. m. and steered south. Wind increased to 
moderate gale ; thick fog rolled in from seaward and sea got up. Close reefed foresail, 
and steered probable coui'se for Upernavik, having concluded to land there to leave notice 
for the Yantic, in case she should stop there before I met her. 

Not having been able to get a sight of the sun, and fog obscuring the land, I could only 
estimate my position, and supposed I was below Tessuisak at noon. 

At 6 p. m. I sighted an island which I supposed to be Long Island, adjoining Uper- 
navik Island to the sound [southward*]. Round its south end and hauled up along its 
east side for next island to northward, looking for the settlement. While sailing along its 
coast we sighted a barrel on the shore, which had a very exhilarating effect on the spirits 
of all hands, but, on searching the south side of the next island and seeing no signs of 
natives, they felt pretty low. 

The weather had by this time cleared off showing a large glacier to eastward. This, 
from its size, I took to be Ui)ernavik Glacier, that being the only one marked on the chart 
tracing I had. I informed the men that we had missed Upernavik, and that, after cook- 
ing a meal with the barrel we had passed, I did not intend to again land until reaching 
Godhavn. This decision, to their credit, they very cheerfully accepted, notwithstanding 
they very much needed a rest and dry clothing. 

I sailed back and landed at the barrel, with which I started a fire and cooked a solid 
meal of the best we had. The place was evidently a summer camp of natives, and had 
not been long abandoned. 

From bearings I got of the glacier, which I supposed to be that of Upernavik (but 
which afterwards proved to be Tessuisak Glacier), and of a high point on the sound [to 
the southward*], which I took to be Sanderson's Hope, I located myself about eight 
miles ESE. of Upernavik. 

Having finished our meal, and after leaving a record in a tin can in a small cairn, we 
started again at 9.30 p. m. under sail. 

August 23 commenced bright and clear, thick to southward and heavy swell. Wind 
dying away at 1 a. m., manned oars and pulled along with the watch. At 2 a. m. 
isighted a store-house to southeastward, which I supposed to be Proven, and, after a 

. • : 

* Corrected in blue in the original. 



222 APPENDIX 

"while, concluded to pull in and leave a notice to be sent to Upernavik. Lauded at 5 a. 
m. and sent David to call up the natives at the only hut in sight, not even a dog being 
visible. He came back with the information that we were at Upernavik, -when I roused 
up the watch in, who had not been awakened by the landing and the shots I had fired 
to attract attention, manned all oais, and pulled around the south side of the island for 
the settlement on the other side, Danish harbor being the place I had landed. I was met 
at the landing by Governor Moller, of Proven, with the information that the Yantic 
had left at 9 p. m. the previous evening for the south, a very great disappointment to us 
all. 

The governor of Upernavik, Mr. Elborg, was up and met me when I reached his house, 
and did everything in his power to make us comfortable. I was given a letter, addressed 
to yourself, from Commander Wildes, of the Yantic, in which he stated his intention to 
fill up with coal at the Kudliso3t mines in Waigatt Strait, then to remain at Godhavn 
not later than September 15th, at which time he would proceed south to Saint John's, 
Newfoundland. 

Wishing to reach him in time to have the Yantic come back north for the rest of the party, 
who I thought were probably blocked in the ice in Melville Bay, I proposed start- 
42 ing at once in my boat. The combined protests of both governors and the minister 
against crossing Omenak Fjord in a whale-boat, a trip that had only once been ac-^ 
complished, and then at a verj" great danger, and the urgent oft'ers of Governor Elborg, 
influenced me to leave my whale-boat and accept a heavy, open launch belonging to him. 
This boat was also more roomy, admitting of lying down and moving about, impossi- 
bilities in the whale-boat. Mr. Elborg wished me to wait two days while he decked it 
over, but I decided to start the same day, and at 3 p. m. left Upernavik for Kudlisoet 
Mine. 

While at Upernavik the hospitality and kindness of Mr. Elborg and Mr. Kristensen, 
the missionary, could not be exceeded. Everything was placed at my disposal; a large 
house was assigned the men to sleep in ; a substantial meal and all necessaries for their 
comfort furnished ; and all the wet clothing and provisions taken out of the boat and care- 
fully dried. The governor and Mrs. Elborg did all for my personal comfort their kindness 
could suggest, while the minister presented me with a pair of his own boots, articles of 
which I stood very much in need, and a chart of the coast, of which I had only a rough 
tracing. 

When we were ready to leave the entire population, after stowing our supplies in the 
boat, gathere^l to see us off, giving us a hearty cheer as we set [made*] sail out of the 
harbor. 

On examining my stores at Upernavik I found nearly all my hard bread sour from hav- 
ing been so long wet, so I had to get a barrel of bread from the supplies of the settlement, 
the governor of Proven to furnish it from his stores. I was also to get the water-casks 
Mr. Elborg gave me filled at Proven, to avoid longer delay at Upernavik. Mr. Moller, 
governor of Proven, was to accompany me to that place, and Joseph, an Eskimo from 
Upernavik, was to accompany me as pilot as far as Svarten Huk, and to lend a hand gen- 
erally until I returned the boat to Upernavik. 

I arrived at Proven at 4 a. m. August 24, sailing to within eight or ten miles of the 
harbor, when the wind died away and oars were manned. As the boat pulled only four 
oars and was very heavy, the men found it hard work after the light whale-boat. At 
Proven I met with the same kindness from Mr. Moller I had experienced at Upernavik. 
He had the water-casks filled for me, furnished the barrel of bread, presented us with 
two quarters of reindeer, with some fresh provisions and fire-wood from his own slender 
stock, and, when I left at 3 p. m., accompanied me with his boat, towing for two hours. 
The only return I could make him was the present of my shot-gun and the few car- 
tridges I had remaining. 

The weather was calm, so we pulled all night and until 9 p. m. the next day, August 
25th, when made sail to light N. breeze which lasted four hours. Calm again at 1 a. 
m., 26th. Manned oars and pulled until 6 a. m , when made sail to light NNW. breeze 
off Svarten fluk, increasing to moderate breeze and lasting all day until 9 p. m. Manned 
oars again and pulled until afternoon of the next day. At 8 a. m. 27th, when off Nour- 
soak, about five miles distant, some hyaks came off from shore, and, after ascertaining 
from David who we were, carried the news on shore. Shortly afterwards the governor 
pulled out to us and again illustrated the hospitality of these people by bringing off 
some bottles of gin to present us. The governor was a half-breed, and spoke very little 
English, but he informed me he had seen a steamer, presumably the Yantic, pass down 
the Waigatt Strait on the 23d instant, and that he had news by a native boat that she 
stopped at Kudliscet coal mine two days, but had left. 

Wishing to get word to the Yantic as quickly as possible, I wrote a note stating the 
condition of affairs, and requesting Commander Wildes to communicate with me at Eiten- 

* Corrected in blue in the original. 



APPENDIX. 223 

iDcnk, for whicb place I would make if I failed to meet him at Kudlisoet. This 
43 note the governor agreed to send direct to Godhavn by kyaks, then returned to the 

shore. Half an hour later two kyaks passed us going down the strait with the 
note. Made sail to light NW. airs during afternoon to rest the men, manning oars again 
at 6 p. m. and pulling till 11 p. m., when I was able to make sail to a gentle NW. breeze, 
which lasted until 7 a. m. 28th. This was the first night we had had dark enough to 
necessitate a light to read the compass. Pulled all day and night and until 8 p. m. the 
next day, 29th. Passed Kudlisoet at 11 p. m. 28th, but it was too dark to see more than 
the Yantic Avas not there. Weather was overcast, heavy fog banks at intervals these two 
days, and frequent showers afternoon of 29th. Passed settlement of Oyorsasook at 5 p. 
m. , from which two kyaks came off. They said the Noursoak kyaks had passed that 
day, and that the Yantic had passed three days before. I engaged these two men to 
carry a note to Commander Wildes, informing him that I would not stop at Eitenbenk 
but would keep on to Godhavn. 

Made sail to light SE. breeze at 8 p. m. and beat to windward until 1 p. m. August 

30, making only about ten miles. Manned oars when wind failed and pulled around 
Fletterhuk (southeast point of Disco Island) until 5 p. m., when made sail to light E. 
breeze. 

Breeze increased to stiff wind and hauled to ENE. , carried all sail before it and rant 
all night along the coast, about four miles distant. 

Ean under lee of promontory on south side of Godhavn Harbor at 2.30 a. m. August 

31. Double reefed the sails and tried to beat in ; wind blowing directly out the entrance. 
Eeef points tore out of the main-sail, and after beating for three hours and making very 
little to windward, missed stays twice on south side of channel and went on the rocks. 
I then sent a signal man on the hill to flag the Yantic, which I could see at anchor in 
the harbor. I had got the boat clear and was about standing off again when the Yan- 
tic's first cutter was sighted coming around a point a couple hundred yards away. My 
boat was taken in tow, and I was brought alongside the Yantic at 8.30 a. m. 

On reporting to Commander Wildes, I found the note I had sent by kyacks from Nour- 
soak had arrived about an hour previously, and the second note had not yet come. 

On my representing the situation of the rest of the party, and their probable condi- 
tion, Commander Wildes gave orders for getting the ship under way, and at 6.30 p. m. 
she was steaming out of the harbor for Upernavik, the launch belonging to that place in 
tow. David, my Eskimo, disappeared when I got alongside the Yantic and I did not 
again see him. 

Had pleasant weather, light breezes, and smooth sea to Upernavik, where we arrived 
at 7.30 a. m. September 2, and I rejoined you with my party. 
Very respectfully, &c. , 

(Signed) J. C. COLWELL, 

Lieut. U. S. Nmnf. 
1st Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th U. S. Cav., A. S. O., 

Commanding Greely Relief Expedition, Washington, D. C, 



45 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL OF CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER. 

Signal Office, Wae Department, 

Washington City, October 16, 1883. 
Hon. EoBT. T. Lincoln, 

Secretary of War : 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose the report of 1st Lieutenant E. A. Garlington, 7th 
Cavalry, upon the exj)edition sent to the Arctic seas this summer for the relief of the 
International Meteorological Expedition, under the command of Lieutenant A. W. 
Greely, U. S. A. The report describes the passage of the ship Proteus carrying stores 
and a rescuing party for Lieutenant Greely, who with his men were to have been brought 
away could they have been reached. The report also describes the loss of the ship and 
a large proportion of the supplies intended for Lieutenant Greely. The failure to find 
stores and dogs ready in Greenland, as had been expected, is not understood, since the 
Danish Government had been communicated with upon that subject at the proper time, 
which was all that could be done or had been usual in pre^'ious years. 

The question of supplementary orders that Mr. GarMngton refers to as having been 
raised, and in unfairness to himself, is, in substance, correctly stated by him. After 
Lieutenant Greely arrived in Lady Franklin Bay, in 1881, he wrote out and sent to this 
oflSce full directions for the party that might be sent to relieve him, ending as follows: 
" No deviation from these instructions should be permitted. Latitude of action should 



224 APPENDIX. 

not be given to a relieving party, v^'ho on a known coast are searching for men wlio 
know their plans and orders. ' ' This made it a matter of greatest delicacy to give any 
directions that in any manner might change the programme there marked out. 

Congress had afterwards, however, added another element to the question, in this, that 
the party should be brought away tlais summer. This at first caused the instructions to 
be determined upon, that the stores be landed at Littleton Island before going north of 
that point. Afterwards it was arranged to send a ship of the U. S. Navy with the Pro- 
teus as a convoy, and this so far obviated the absolute necessity of first stopping to un- 
load at Littleton Island, the convoy itself being a depot, that it was thought best that 
Lieutenant Greely's directions should remain as Lieutenant Garlington's guide, and that 
it be suggested only that the landing be first made. Just before starting Lieutenant 
Garlington brought a copy of a memorandum that had been prepared for the Secretary 
of the Navy to aid him in preparing instructions to the convoy, which contained the 
original condition of first landing at Littleton Island, explaining that it would conflict 
with the plans of Lieutenant Greely, so far as it should consume the time of the expe- 
dition, and in case he should find clear weather and open water beyond, with a fair pros- 
pect of getting straight through, while by stopping he might lose the opportunity if he 
should not at once proceed. I replied that the authority and discretion which must 
always rest with the commander on the spot, must in such case be his guide. 

The great delicacy in imposing positive instructions in cases like this seemed to make 
the simple suggestion in that paper sufficient. The strictures upon Lieutenant Garling- 
ton, so far as thej'' refer to the question of disobedience, have been unwarranted. 

As to the situation of Lieutenant Greely and his party, while serious, I do not 

46 consider it desperate and fully look for his rescue next season, preparations for which 
must be timely and complete. Lieutenant Garlington has been asked to explain 

more fully, 1st, why he did not endeavor to make a depot at Littleton Island with what 
stores hecQuld gather during the remaining time he might have remained in that region; 
2d, why a large portion of Mr. Greely's stores were abandoned on an ice-floe so long as 
the season still permitted work with boats; 3d, why, out of six boats, none were left for 
Mr. Greely and his party; 4th, why he started south with 40 days' supply in place of 
leaving a large portion of them for Lieutenant Greely when the country was full of game, 
seals, walrus, and fish, and the party well supplied with means for its capture, which 
was an ample source of food; 5th, why he came south of Cape York at all, it being in 
the friendly Eskimo country and fairly supplied with the necessaries of life. 
These explanations will be furnished you as soon as received. 

I have the honor, sir, to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. GenH, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 

47 BepJy of Lieutenant Garlington to Chief Signal Officer. 

Washington, D. C, October 20, 1883. 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army. 

General: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18tli in- 
stant, and beg leave to submit in reply to the qu^estions asked the following answers: 

1. "Why did you not endeavor to make a depot at Littleton Island with what stores 
you could gather during the remaining time that you might have remained in that re- 
gion?" 

Answer. As I stated in my report, I decided, while at Cape Sabine, to make a prompt 
and earnest eflbrt to communicate with the Yantic, and to proceed south at once for that 
purpose. Having come to this conclusion, I proceeded to gather together all the stores 
I could sijare and reclaim from the bags of the crew of the Proteus, and make a cache of 
them on the rocks in Payer Harbor under Cape Sabine. The cache made there contained 
clothing — -blouses, trousers, flannel shirts, socks, stockings, mits, buffalo overcoats, fur 
caps, flannel drawers, undershirts, woolen and rubber blankets ; all wrapped in rubber 
blankets, covered with a tent-fly and weighted down with rocks. The supply of clothing 
is sufficient for twenty-five men for six months. Near this cache is a new top-sail and 
two boats [bolts*] of new canvas, left by Captain Pike, a sufficient supply to furnish shel- 
ter for a large number of men. 

In a cove about three miles west of Cape Sabine a cache of provisions was made. This 
cache contained fifteen sleeping-bags, six hundred pounds of hard bread (three barrels 
and two painted canvas bags), an unknown quantity of bacon, about seven hundred 
pounds of canned meats, vegetables and fruits, a box of tea (forty pounds), a box of gun- 
powder, a can of matches, a tin pot, and a quantity of clothing — all secured as well as 
possible in a crevice of the rocks, covered with two tent-flies, and the whole weighted 

^Corrected in blue in the original. 



APPENDIX. 225 

down with stones. In a conspicuous cairn on the top of Brevoort Island, built by the 
Nares expedition, I deposited a notice of the loss of the Proteus, a definite description of 
the localitj^ of the caches of clothing and the provisions, and also of my proposed move- 
ments and efforts to communicate with the Yantic and return to therelief of Lieutenant 
Greely. 

The record of the late Mr. W. M. Beebe is in the same cairn. I did not disturb the 
cache left by the expedition of Mr. Beebe of last year further than to see if the stores 
were in good order and the boat serviceable. The depot of the English expedition on the 
small island south of Payer Harbor was not disturbed. 

I brought the members of my party down to one suit of clothitig, one change of un- 
derclothing, one buffalo overcoat, one sealskin suit, one pair overshoes, two pairs of socks, 
one pair of mits, and one cap. Everything else was left in the depot. Having made 
these arrangements, I started for Pandora Harbor, stopping at Littleton Island to leave 
a record. In this record I reported the wreck of the Proteus, my intention to go south, 
and my reasons therefor, and indicated my course along the coast to Cape York. I 
stated that I would visit Carey Islands, but this was afterwards found to be unadvisable 
on account of stormy weather, the heavily loaded boats, and the inexperienced crew. 

The reasons which induced me to decide upon going south at once I gave in my report, 
but I will enter into them more fully. 
48 After the Proteus was lost, I determined to communicate with the Yantic as 

soon as it was possible to do so, to get from her all the supplies that could be spared 
and establish a depot at Life-boat Cove. I intended to remain there with a small party, 
while the Yantic could proceed to Saint John's, report the disaster, and endeavor to se- 
cure a vessel suitable for ice navigation and come north with additional supplies. If any- 
thing was to be done this season looking to the relief of Lieutenant Greelj"", it was of the 
greatest importance to communicate with the Yantic at once. When the Proteus en- 
countered the pack in Melville Bay no one on board that vessel thought the Yantic 
would cross the bay. This opinion was formed from the known intention of the com- 
mander of the Yantic not to put his vessel into the ice. 

The Proteus had run into the ' ' middle pack ' ' about one hundred miles northwest of 
Upemavik, and it was very nearly four days from that time until she arrived oif Cape 
York. The ice in the bight of Melville Bay had not broken this season, and if the 
'' ' middle pack ' ' should move off to the westward, leaving a passage around the edge of 
the fast ice, this ice was still to break up, and would form a pack which would prove a 
barrier to the Yantic. As it turned out, to every one's surprise, the Yantic saw no ice 
in Melville Bay, and had an unobstructed passage to Littleton Island. 

If I had remained a fortnight at Littleton Island for the chance of the Yantic' s arri- 
val, my supplies would have been reduced to a dangerously small margin. If she did 
not arrive, I would have had to commence my retreat during a rapidly closing season, 
with inadequate provisions. It would probably have been necessary to force our way 
through much young ice, which, at even that date, formed one-quarter of an inch thick 
during calm nights. 

This would have delayed the progress of the boats and prevented communication of 
the disaster to the Yantic in time that she might render any assistance to Lieutenant 
Greely, if it did not prevent me entirely from reaching the Danish settlements this sea- 
son, and the sending of the news of the disaster home this year. If I had remained in 
that region until it was too late to reach the Danish settlements it would have been 
necessary to draw on the supplies already deposited for Lieutenant Greely, and if he 
should arrive he would find his own supplies diminished and the addition to his party of 
another body of men no better off than his own party. If I started at once I would 
secure the arrival of my party at the Danish settlements before the close of the season. 
If the Yantic succeeded in crossing Melville Bay there was nothing to prevent her reach- 
ing Littleton Island, the Proteus having encountered no ice north of Carey Islands until 
she ran into the ice-fields of Smith Sound, and that ice had not yet moved out to ob- 
struct the channel. I therefore reasoned that she would at once, after finding my 
record on Littleton Island, proceed along the coast following my indicated line of re- 
treat, steaming in a day the distance it would take me a week to cover. If she should 
miss my boats in thick weather, I thought she would endeavor to communicate with 
me at Cape York, which was my stated objective point. It would then still be early 
enough to carry out my original plan of remaining at Life-boat Cove with suijplies from 
the Yantic while that vessel proceeded to Saint John's with the news of the wreck. 

I left Littleton Island on the 26th of July, and on the 7th August had made ut one 
iiundred and thirty miles. 

I reached Cape York on 10th August, and was confirmed in my belief that the Yantic 
had not crossed Melville Bay. The natives at Cape York had not seen any vessel pass 
to the northward and westward lately, and they knew nothing of the Swedish steamer 
Sofia, which was to have come there for a series of scientific observations. This 

S. Ex. 100— AP 15 



226 APPENDIX. 

49 fact convinced me that the Sofia had not been able to get through the Melville 
Bay pack, and if she had not, I thought the Yantic most certainly had not. 

I afterwards learned that the "Sofia" had reached a point about thirty miles west of 
Cape York. After starting on the retreat south, I pushed on as rapidly as possible, stop- 
ping only when compelled to do so by bad weather or ice. I knew if the Yantic did 
not succeed in crossing Melville Bay, it would be necessary for me to make the passage 
during the month of August. Young ice begins to form during that month, and if it 
■was encountered in extensive sheets it Avould be fatal to my own party. The few patches 
of this yoiing ice we had already met cut the bows of my boats badly. The constant ex- 
posure and the hard work were already beginning to tell on my men, and it was very 
questionable whether we would be able to cross the bay. If I had concluded to take the 
risk of waiting at Littleton Island for the Yantic, I woxrld not have gathered any of 
the supplies at Cape Sabine and the west coast of Smith Sound to form a depot at Little- 
ton Island. These stores are much more available to Lieutenant Greely where they are 
than they could he il" on Littleton Island. There are three caches of provisions between 
Lady Franklin Bay and Cape Sabine, one of them consisting of two months' supplies for 
Lieutenant Greely's party. Cape Sabine, according to Lieutenant Greely's own plan, wa.s 
his first objective point in a retreat south. If he arrives there this season he will find the 
record of the loss of the Proteus, and will know that there is no depot on Ijittleton 
Island. He will have at Cape Sabine, food, clothing, and facilities tor making shelter. 
If he comes south in his boats and reaches Cape Sabine after the 1st September, it is 
questionable whether he could cross Smith Sound at that season, even if he should de- 
sire to do so. The ice is then in motion with the winds and tides, and the young ice is 
rapidly forming. If he should come down later in the fall in sledges (which is improb- 
able), the same difiiculties would exist to a greater extent. So, in my opinion, depots of 
supplies on the west coast of the sound are in better position to afford relief to Lieutenant 
Greely than they would be if on the other side. I saw no natives about Life-Boat Cove 
or Littleton Island, nor any recent signs of their presence, so I could not have formed a 
depot of supplies procured Irom that quarter. Birds were plentiful, but I had but one 
shot-grui and eighty-six cartridges in my party, so could not have secured many birds. 

Although I made every effort to do so, I was unable to find the guns and ammunition 
provided for the expedition. 

Walrus were very uunierous, but at that season they were very wild and wary, taking 
to the water at the slightest alarm; moreover, they sink when shot in the water. A har- 
poon and line are necessary to secure them. After ice forms of siiflicient thickness to 
bear their weight, they are easily speaced or shot if they are caught away from their 
holes, or if the holes fi'eeze over. One of them was shot, but he sank immediately. Seals 
are difficult to secure for the same reason; several were shot during the retreat, but sank 
immediatelJ^ 

In the spring of the year these animals float when killed. Any attempt at securing 
game would have seriously retarded my progress south, which I desired to hasten a.s mtich 
as possible, for reasons already given. 

2d. ''Why were a large portion of Mr. Greely's stores abandoned on an ice floe so 
soon [long-] as the season still permitted work with boats?" 

Answer. The boats worked all night and until twelve o'clock the next day, getting- 
the stores saved from the ship on Cape Sabine. Each trip was attended with great ^dan- 
ger: the ice Avas all in motion, and rumiing rapidly to the southeast before a strong wind 
from the northwest and the el)!) tide. ' The large floes of hea^'y Arctic ice were continu- 
ally crushing and grinding together, cracks ojjening and closing, the edges of the floes- 
marked by ridges of ice blocks piled up ten or twelve feet high, by the enormous- 

50 pressure of the great masses of ice as they jammed against each other. The boats- 
when pulling through the closing cracks were compelled to haul up on the ice and 

wait for the crack to reopen. One boat was detained in this Avay for two hours, being: 
"\\'alled in on acircular fioe by blocks of ice seven feet thick piled around its circumfer- 
ence. The risk of handling the boats in that sea of moA^ing ice AA"as so great that it was 
seriously argued by a party of the cxcav of the Proteus, then on the floe, to give up the 
attempt to reach Cape Sabine and trust their fortunes to the solid ice floe tiiey were then 
on, rather than run the chances of being crushed while endeavoring to make land. When I 
last saw the floe having the proAisions on it, it Avas about two miles away, the sea between 
covered Avith heavy broken running ice, and the floe itself moving to the southAvard and 
eastward at the rate of two and a half miles an hour. I lost sight of it soon after, and saw 
no more of it or any trace of the Avreck. The men had noAv been working almost con- 
tinuously for tAveuty-four [one"'-'] hours, having eaten nothing except some hard bread 
and tea during that time, and Avere AA^orn out with fatigue and loss of sleep. I did not 
consider the stores remaining on the floe of sulficieut importance to again endanger the 
li\'es of my men or serioiLslj^ risk the loss of my boats. 

* Corrected in blue in the original. 



APPENDIX. 227 

As near as I can ascertain, when the last boat left the floe there remained on it two 
barrels of assorted canned goods, some loose cans, a small quantity of lumber, two sails, 
some scattered clothing, the theodolite, and some boxes of newspapers. 

3d. ' ' Why out of six boats were none left for Mr. Greely and his party ?' ' 

Answer. I had two ordinary" navy-built whale-boats and a dingj' . The dingy was a 
very light, shallow cedar boat, for use in perfectly smooth water and a very light cargo. 
She would have been of no use to Lieutenant Greely, and I took her along in tow that 
she might lighten the cargoes of the other boats and serve as a shelter for the men when 
on land. When I left the shelter of the land at Cape York she was lelt above high-water 
mark above that point. The U\o whale-boats were necessary to carry my own party of 
fifteen men ; one would not have been sufficient. Even with their light crews of seven 
in one boat and eight in the other, their gunwales were not six inches above the Avater 
when loaded. They floated lighter at the start; but after a few days, when everything 
became A\ater-soaked \\ ith the frequent rain, snow, and spray, they were dangerously 
overloaded. 

The three boats of the Proteirs were old, very much out of repair and badly equipped. 
They had neither spars, sails, nor rudders fltted, and only lour oars each co\ild be found 
for them. Makeshift rudders and sails were fitted at Cape Sabine. I subsequently 
loaned them one of my sails, which tliey used in their largest boat throughout the trip. 
These boats were twenty-one feet, nineteen feet, aud fifteen feet six inches long, and car- 
ried crews of nine, seven, and six men, respectively. No two of the boats would have 
carried the crew of the Proteus. To have left one of the Proteus boats, or to leave one 
of my whale-])oats and distribute my surplus men in the Proteus boats, a resort to force 
would have been necessary, which I was not prepared to make for the questionable ben- 
efit of leaving a boat. 

Lieutenant Greely has with him three whale-boats and a steam-launch. At Polaris 
Bay, opposite Lady Franklin Bay, there is a twenty-foot ice-boat, left there by Lieuten- 
ant Beaumont, of the Discovery ; also a whale-boat in Newman Bay, left by the Polaris. 

If he comes to Cape Sabine without boats, there is a whale-boat, left there last year 
and needing only a small j)atch replaced to be perfectly serviceable. Twenty miles be- 
low Cape Sabine, at Cape Isabella, is another whale-boat. He has eight boats available 
on the west coast and another on Carey Islands. 

A boat at Littleton Island would prove of no benefit to him. for, after reaching the 
Greenland coast, he would have no further need of boats until next summer, when, it is 
to be hoped, he will not be reduced to the necessity of trying to make his way south in 

small boats. 
51 4th. "Why you started south with forty days' supply, in place of leaving a 

large portion of them for Lieutenant Greely, when the country was full of game, 
seals, walrus, and fish, and the party well supplied with means for its capture, which 
was an ample source of food? " 

Answer. The exact amount of supplies I had for my party of fifteen men (afterwards 
increased by one man) when I left Cape Sabine was as follows : 

Six hundred poiinds of hard bread in bags, a great deal of which got wet and soured 
and had to be thrown away ; three hundred pounds of bacon, eighty pounds of tea, one- 
half barrel of sugar, one hundred and forty pounds of pemican, from last year's stores, 
about half of which was spoiled ; about four hundred pounds of canned meats, vegeta- 
bles, and fruits, aud one-half barrel of alcohol. 

This was a smaller quantity of food than was taken by any party retreating from that 
region. I could not foretell the exact length of time necessary to make our journey. 
Dr. Kane retreated from a short distance north of Littleton Island to Uperna\dk, taking 
with him all the proA'isious he could carry in his three boats. It took him eighty-four 
days to make the journey. I made the distance from Littleton Island to Upernavik in 
twenty-nine days. 

The Polaris people started south with supplies for two months and a half, but were 
picked up a short distance from Cape York by a whaler, after ha^dng been in their boats 
twenty -three days. At that time of the year I could not expect to meet a whaler, for 
they only visit the vicinity of Cape York in the early season on their way to the Avhaling 
grounds of Pond's Inlet and Jones Sound, where they remain until September, when they 
are able to cross Davis' Strait, for the southward, homeward bound. 

In my answer to your fiist question I have stated why it would have been impossible 
for me to have killed sufficient game to subsist my party and at the same time make 
rapid progress to the southward. I saw no fish in that region, and, if I had, I had no 
means of catching them. If I had left any of my small stock of proAisions at Littleton 
Island, I would have seriously endanger^l the safety of my men to no purpose. As it 
was, the short rations of sometimes one and never more than two meals a day began to 
tell heavily u-pou them by the time I reached Upernavik. 



228 APPENDIX. 

After leaving Cape York I sjiw no game, except two or three seals, until I reached the 
islands about Tessuisak. 

5th. ' "Why did jon come south of Cape York at all, it being in the friendly Eskimo 
■country and fairly supplied with the necessaries of life?" 

Answer. I did not remain at Cape York because I did not see then, nor do I see now, how 
I could have possibly been of any service to Lieutenant Gi'eely. 

The friendly Eskimo I saw about Cape York consisted of three families of sixteen peo- 
ple (three men, four women, and nine children) at one place, and six men at another 
place about ten miles distant. From these people I learned that the settlement near 
Cape York, which they indicated as being somewhere to the northward and w^estward, 
consisted of about forty people, and that they were only there temporarily hunting, that 
they would soon return to the main settlement. The only habitations I saw along the 
coast were several abandoned winter huts, at long distances apart, and the three skin 
tents in which the three families referred to above were living. From the best informa- 
tion attainable, I am of the opinion that there are no more than one hundred and twenty- 
live Eskimo from Cape York to Reussalaer Baj^ and it is a well-known fact that they are 
a very improvident and shiftless race, and on the ^■erge of starvation every winter. To 
have quartered a party, howsoever small, without provisions on these people with the 
chance of Lieutenant Greely's I'eaching there with his party during the fall, would have 
been but to seriously endanger the lives of the whole community, without being able to 
accomplish any good whatever. I had not more than t^^'0 weeks' supplies when 
5'2 I left Cape York. I left that point for the same reason I left Cape Sabine — to en- 
deavor to help Lieutenant Greely and party in the only way which seemed to me 
practicable. As I have stated from the information received there (Cape York), I was 
convinced that the Yantic had not crossed Melville Bay, and, consequently, had not found 
my records. The only alternative left to me was to endeavor to reach Upernavik and 
Disco just as soon as possible, still making every elfort to communicate with the Yantic, 
detaching Lieutenant Colwell to make communication more certain. 

If my actions in this matter are not explained to the satisfaction of yourself and the 
honorable Secretary of War, I have the honor to request that a c^urt of inquiry be ordered 
to investigate the whole case. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

(Signed) ' ■ E. A. GARLINGTON, 

1st Lieut., 1th Cav., A. S. 0. 

Pages 3 to 52, inclusive, of the foregoing, except the two head-lines on page 3, the run- 
ning titles and numbering of pages, and the first line on pages 45 and 47, are true copies 
of the original papers and inclosures now filed in the ofi&ce of the Secretary of War. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Sigiml Officer. 
Nov. 9, 1883. 

The corrections made in blue were suggested by the court of inquiry and have been 
Terified. 

W. B. HAZEN, 

Chief Signal Offi,ocr. 
Signal Office, Nov. 14, 1883. 



(266.) 
[4741 B, War Dept., 1, 1831, 8-4808. A. G. O., 1883.] 

United States of America, 

War Department, 
Washington City, November 15, 1883. 

Pursuant to section 882 of the Eevised Statutes, I hereby certify that the annexed 
papers, being : 

No. \. — A letter of May 14th. 1880, from the chief clerk, War Department, to Mr. 
Finkle. 

No. 2. — A letter of May 24th, 1880, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
State. 

No. 3. — A letter of June 1st, 1880, from the Secretary of W^ar to the Commissary 
General of Subsistence. 

No. 4. — A letter of February 4th, 1881, from»the Secretary of War to Hon. James H. 
Blount, chairman subcommittee on appropriations. House of Eepresentatives. 

No. 5. — A letter of March 16th, 1881, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
State. 



APPENDIX. 229 

No. C. — A letter of March '29tli, 1881, from the chief clerk, War Department, to the 
Chief Signal Oftlcer. 

No. 7. — A letter of April 6th, 18^1. from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
the Navy. 

No. 8. — A letter of April 13th, 1881, from the chief clerk, War Department, to the 
Secretaxy of the NaA^y. 

No. 9. — A letter of April 16th, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of War^ 
in his absence) to Plon. W. W. Crapo, M. C. 

No. 10. — A letter of April "iBrd, 1881, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
the Navy. 

No. 11. — A letter of May 31st, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of War, 
in his absence) to the Secretary of State. 

No. 12. — A letter of June 16, 1881, from the Secretary of War to J. W. Anderson. 

No. 13. — A letter of July 25th, 1881, fronr the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
State. 

No. 14. — A letter of Angust 19, 1881, from the Secretary of War to Rev. M. Stone. 

No. 1.5. — A letter of September 9, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of 
W^ar, in his absence) to the Secretary of State. 

No. 16. — A letter of September 17, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of 
War, in his absence) to the Secretary of State. 

No. 17. — A letter of October 3, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of War, 
in his absence) to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

No. 18.— x\ letter of October 14th, 1881, from the chief clerk (for the Secretary of 
War, in his absence) to the Secretary of State. 

No. 19. — A letter of December 9, 1881, from the Secretary of War to the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. 

No. 20. — A letter of December 13, 1881, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary 
of State. 

No. 21. — A letter of March 13th, 1882, from the Secretary of War to L. F. Grover, of 
Committee on Military Affairs, U. S. Senate. 

No. 22. — A letter of May 10th, 1882, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of the 
Navy. 

No. 23. — A letter of May 17, 1882, from the acting chief clerk, War Department, to 
the Chief Signal Officer. 

No. 24. — A letter of May 18th, 1882, from the Secretary of War to the President. 

No. 25. — A letter of June 9th, 1862, from the Secretary of War to the chairman Com- 
mittee on Appropriations, House of Representatives. 

No. 26. — A letter of June 22d, 1882, from the Secretary of War to Hon. O. D. Conger, 
U. S. Senator. 

No. 27. — A letter of June 27th, 1882, from the Secretary of War to the President. 

No. 28. — A letter of June 30, 1882, from the Secretary of War to the Surgeon- Gen- 
eral. 

No. 29. — A letter of July 3d, 1882, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of State. 

No. 30. — A letter of July 17, 1882, from the Acting Secretary of War to the Secretary 
of State. 

No. 31. — A letter of September 16th, 1882, from the acting chief clerk, War Depart- 
ment, to the Chief Signal Officer. 

No. 32. — A telegram of September 25, 1882, from the CMef Clerk, War Department, 
to the Secretary of War. 

No. 33. — A letter of September 26th, 1882, from the Chief Clerk, War Department, 
to the President. 

No. 34. — A General Order, without number or date, signed "Approved, Chester A. 
Arthur." 

No. 35. — A letter of October 3l8t, 1882, from the Secretaiy of War to the Secretary 
of State. 

No. 36.— A letter of March 14th, 1883, from the Secretary of War to W. H. Gilden, 
esq.. Herald Office, New York. 

No. 37. — A letter of April 6th, 1883, from the Secretary of War to the Chief Signal 
Officer. 

No. 38.— A letter of May 8th, 1883, from the Secretary of War to Mrs. Lilla M. 
Pavy. 

No. 39.— A letter of May 4th, 1883, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
the Navy. 

No. 40. — A letter of May 14, 1883, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of the 
Navy. 

No. 41.— A letter of June 23, 1883, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
the Navy. 

No. 42. — A letter of July 7, 1883, from the Secretary of War to William Atherton. 

No. 43. — A letter of July 14, 1883, trom the chief clerk (for the Secretary of War,_ 
in his absence) to Mrs. Allie Moritz. 



230 APPENDIX. 

No. 44. — A letter of September 19, 1883, from tlie Secretnry of War to the Secretary 
of the Navy. 

No. 45. — A letter of October '23, 1883, frouj the Secretary of War to Rev. M. Stoue. 

No. 46. — A letter of October 24, 1883, from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of 
the Navy ; are true coiiieH from the official records in this Department. 

Iq witness whereof I have hereiinto set ray hand and caused the seal of the War 
Department to be atifixed, on the day and year first above writren. 

[SEAL.] ' ■ ROBERT T. LINCOLN. 

Secreiary of War. 



L-''*'-^ W. D. 1880. L.B. 87-451.] 
[Number 1.] 

War Department, 
Washington Citi/, May Uth, 1880. 
Mr. FiNKLE : 

Will you please send to this office for record the re(]nisition of the Chief Signal 
Officer for certain supplies to be furnished by the Q. M. Department, which was ap- 
proved by the Secretary of War May 7th, but not recorded in this office. It will be 
returned as soon as recorded. 
Yours truly, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Clerk. 



[5780 W. D. 1880. L. B. 88-4(34.] 

[Number 2.] 

War Depart.vient, 
Washington City, May 24th, 1880. 
Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith a letter from Lieut. A. W. Greeley, 5th 
Cavalry, commanding the expedition fitting out in this city for the polar regions, that 
inquiries be made of the Government of Great Britain whether any stores are cached 
north of Cape York by the English Arctic expedition of 1875 & 1876, yet remain, and, 
if so, whether they will be placed at the disposal of the expedition under his com- 
mand. 

Inviting your attention to the endorsement thereon of the Chief Signal Officer, I 
beg to request that if the application is a proper one it may be favorably considered. 
Very respectfully, your obed't ser'v't, 

ALEX. RA]\ISEY, 

Secretary of War. 
The honorable the Secretary of State. 



[A. B. 87-500. No booli number.] 
[Number 3. J 

War Department, 
Washington City, June 1, 1880. 
To the Commissary-General of Subsistence : 

Mr. Chester, an exi^erienced Aictic packer, will report to you for duty iu conuection 
with supplies ordered for the expeditionary force to the Arctic seas. He is acting 
under the orders of the Chief Sigual Officer, who is authorized to instruct him in the 
premises, as well as others connected with that force. 

ALEX. RAMvSAY. 



[L. B. 72-101. 1368. W. D. 1881.] 

Number 4. 

War Department, 
Washington City, Febrnary ith, 1881. 
Hon. James H. Blount, 

Chairman Sub-Committee on Approiyriations, House of Representatives : 
Sir : The honorable Secretary of War desires to invite the attention of your hon- 
orable committee to the scientific importance, by favorable consideration of the esti- 



APPENDIX. 231 

mate of this office for $25,000, of coutiuniiig the work iu counectiou with the luter- 
national Polar station at Lady Frauklin Sound. This station was authorized by the 
act of Congress, approved May 1st. 1880, by virtue of which law this Department 
has so far acted. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

ALEX RAMSEY, 

Secretary of War. 

[L. B. 92-200. 2770. W. D. 1881. 1 
Xiimber 5. 

War Department, 

Washington City, March 16, 1881, 
The Honorable the Secretary of State : 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith, and to commend to favorable consid- 
eration, a copy of a communication of the 12th instant from 1st Lieut. A. W. Greely, 
5th Cavalry, A. S. O., and assistant commanding the exj)editiou for the establishing 
of an international polar station at Lady Franklin Bay, requesting the co-operation 
of the Department of State, in certain matters which he suggests in connection with 
eaid expedition. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBEET T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 

[L. B. 02. 226-2364. W. D. 1881. J 
Number 6. 

War Department, 

Washington City, March 29th, 1881. 
General: Will you please return to this office for examination the letter which 
was approved by Secretary Ramsey, authorizing Lieut. A. W. Greeley to take charge 
of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition. Tluj Secretary desires it for a few moments. 
Very trulv, yours, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Clerk. 
Gen. Wm. B. Hazen, 

Chief Signal Officer. 



[L.B. 92-241. :5524. W. D. 1881.] 

Number 7. 

War Department, 
Washington City, April 6th, 1881. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Navy: 

Sir : Acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 2ud instant, I have the honor 
to inform you that, in compliance with your rei^uest therein contained, the Quarter- 
master-General has been instructed to sell to the Navy Department, for the use of the 
Arctic expedition iu search of the " Jeannette," the following articles, viz : 
100 Armj^- regulation fur caps andSi' Army-regulation fur gloves. 
Very respeotfnllv, vour obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



fL. B. 92-268. 3968. W. D. 1881.] 

Jfiimljer 8. 

War Department, 
Washington City, April 13th, 1881. 
Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith a communication from Lieut. A. W. 
Greely, commanding the Lady Franklin Bay Polar Expedition, dated the 12th in- 
stant, referring to previous correspondence Avith the Navy Department, respecting 
certain changes in the construction of the steam-launch now building at the Wash- 
ington Navy- Yard, and. intended for the use of said expedition, and recommending 
that, in case such changes would be at the expense of the War Department, that the 
vessel be completed as an ordinary service launch, &c. 



232 APPENDIX. 

I would invite your attention to the endorsement on said letter of tlie Chief Signal' 
Officer approving the recommendation, and beg to state the same meets the approval 
of the Secretary of War. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



The honorable the Secretary of the NaVy. 



H. T. CROSBY 

Chief Cleric. 



[L. B. 92-272. 3502. W. D. 1881.] 
Ifiimber 9. 

War Department, 
Washington City, April I6th, 1881. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receij^t of your favor of the 29th ultimo,, 
calling attention to the bark Bounding Billow, which is for sale, as a suitable vessel 
to convey the Arctic expedition under Lieut. Greely to Lady Fraukliu Bay. 

In reply, I beg to inform you that the subject was duly referred to the Chief Signal 
Officer for his views, and that he reports that a steam and sail vessel is required for 
the purposes of the proposed expedition, and consequently it would not be practica- 
ble to purchase the vessel mentioned. 

Very respectfnllv, your obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Clerk, 
(For the Secretart/ of War. in his «&.9ence. ) 
Hon. W. W. Crapo, M, C, 

Neic Bedford, Mass.. 



[L. B. 92-284. 4350. W. D. 1881.] 

Number 10. 

War Department, 
Washinyton City, Ajn-il 23d, 1681. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from Lieut. A. W. Greely, com" 
manding the expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, dated the 1.5th instant, in which, re. 
ferring to your communication of the 12th instant, stating that an officer of the Navy 
would be detailed for the inspection of sealing steamers at St. John's and Harbor 
Grace, he expresses a preference for Lieut. John F. Merry to perform the duty. 

In this connection I beg to invite your attention to my endorsement of the 4th in- 
stant on letter from the Chief Signal Officer of same date, wherein, referring to a 
similar requ( at of Lt. Greely, I stated ''it is preferred that the Hon. Secretary of ther 
Navy make choice of such officer as he may deem most suitable." 
Very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War.. 
The honorable the Secretary oe the Navy. 

■ [L. B., 92-364. 5656. W. T). 1881.] 
Number 11. 

Wap. Department, 
Washington City, May 31s*, 1881. 
The Honorable the Secretary of State : 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the- 
18th instant, enclosing duplicate copies of the chart and list indicating the position 
of the several depots of provisions left by the Arctic expedition under Sir George 
Nares in 1875. 

The documents named will doubtless prove of great value to the expedition soon to 
sail under command of Lieute-cv ant A. W. Greely for Lady Franklin Bay, and it is re- 
spectfully asked that will please cause thanks of this Department to be appropriately 
conveyed to the British Admiralty for the courtesy of placing the information at our 
service. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Cleric, 
(For th* Secretary of War, in his aisence.y 



APPENDIX. 233 

[L.B. 92-393. 5988. W D 1881.] 
K'umber 12. 

War Department, 

Washington City, June I6th, 1881. 
Sir : Your letter of the 4tli instant to the Hon. Secretary of the Nary, requesting to- 
be enlisted for the Arctic Expedition under Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. S. Army, was- 
referred to that officer through this Department June 6th, 1881. 

Under date the 14th instant, Lieut. Greeley rejiorts that " the entire party has been 
selected and detailed." Under these circumstances your request cannot of necessity 
receive favorable consideration. 
Very respectfullv, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
Mr. J. W. Anderson, 

12i? North Front street, Baltimore. Md. 



[L. B. 92-477. 7420. W.D. 1881-1 

Number 13. 

War Department, 
Washington City, July 25th, 1881. 
Sir: In compliance with the request conveyed by your letter of the 16th instant, I 
have the honor to transmit herewith, for the use of the Department of State, two 8et& 
of instructions governing the establishment and management of the Polar Expedition 
to Lady Franklin Bay and Point Barrow. 

Very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
The honorable the Secretary of State. 



iL. B. 92-516. 8134. W. D. 1881.] 
Number 14. 

War Department, 
Washington City, August I9th, 1881. 
Rev. M. Stone, 

Lebanon, Ohio : 
Sir : Acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 9th inst., stating that your 
daughter, wife of Doctor Octave Pavy, of the " Howgate Arctic Expedition," now in 
Greenland, is dependent upon her husband's salary for support, and inquiring whether 
she cannot avail herself thereof without waiting until she can receive an order from 
him for that purpose, I beg to inform you that if Mrs. Pavy will write to the Pay- 
ma.ster- General of the Army, this city, she can learn from him the proper method of 
drawing any part of the pay of her hiLsband. 
Verv respectfullv, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



, . [L. B. 94-3. 8972. W. D. 1881.] 

Number 15. 

War Department, 
Washington City, Septemier 9th, 1881. 
Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith a letter from the Chief Signal Officer of 
the Army, dated the 3rd instant, in which he requests that the accomiianying voucher* 
be signed by Mr. Robert C. Morgan, as di.sbursing agent of your Department, when 
a check for .$17.00 will be forwarded to reimburse the Department of State for two 
consular tiags relinquished by the consul at St. John's to Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. S. 
Army, on the 4th of July, last. 

It is respectfully requested that the accompanying papers be returned to this office, 
after the vouchers have been properly signed. 
Verv respectfullv, vour obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Clerk, 
{For the Secretary of Jfar in his ahsenve.) 
The honorable the Secretary of State. 



234 APPENDIX. 

[L. B. 94-17. 9280. W. D. 1881.] 

Number 1«. 

War Departmknt, 
fVash'uigton City, September 17ih, 1881. 
Sir : I have the houor to enclose herewith copy of a telegram received by the Cliie 
Signal Officer of the Army on the 12th instant, from Lieutenant A. W. Greely, acting 
signal officer, commanding expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, and to beg, in com- 
pliance with the Chief Signal Officer's recommendation of the 13th instant, that it be 
transmitted to the British Admiralty, as it concerns their depots and stores located in 
the arctic region 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 

Chief Clerk, 
(For the Secretarij of Jf'ar in his absence.) 
The honorable the Skcretary of State. 



[L.B. 93-27. 9443. W. D. ISSl.) 
Number 17. 

War Department, 

Washington Citi/, October 'id, 1881. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Treasury : 

Sir: I have the honor to forward the enclosed report of the Chief Signal Officer in 
xespect to the contents of certain packages belonging to the Greely Expedition, 
shipped from St. John's, New Foundland, to New York, by the Allan Steamer " Car- 
mina," and fo request, in view of the statement therein set forth, the free delivery of 
^aid packages, subject to such inspection as the Treasury Department may see fit to 
xequire. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 
Chief Clerk, 
. ' {For the Secretary of li'ar in his absence.) 



[L.B. 94^35. 9610 W.D. 1881.] 
Number 18. 

War Department, 

Washington Ciii/, October ith, 1881. 
Sir: In compliance with the request of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army dated 
the 29th ultimo, I beg to extend the thanks of this Department for the very efficient 
aid given by Mr. Thomas N. Molloy, U. S. consul at St. John's, N. F., in the outfit of 
the expedition under command of Lieutenant Greely to Lady Franklin Bay, and for 
Tiis promptJiess in transmitting information of its safe arrival. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. T. CROSBY, 
(For the Sea'ctary of War in his absence). 
The Honorable the Secretary of State. 



[L.B. 94-150. 11598. W.D. 1881.] 
Number 19. 

War Departmen t, 
Washington City, December 9th, 188 
The Speaker of the House of Representatives: 

The Secretary of War has the honor to transmit to the House of Representatives a 
letter dated the 2nd instant from Brigadier-General W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, 
enclosing a copy of a letter dated July 5, 1881, from Lieutenant A. W. Greely, acting 
signal officer and assistant, office of Chief Signal Officer, commanding expedition to Lady 
JFranklin Bay, in which he estimates that the sum of $33,000 (.$13,000 of which should 
be immediately available) will be needed for the support of the expedition for the 
next fiscal year. 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



APPENDIX. 235 

(L. 1?. 94-150. 11.704. W, T) 1881.] 
Kumber 20. 

Wak Department, 
WashUifiton i'it>/, Decmrher 13ffe, 1881. 
The honorable the Seckktary of State : 

8ik: I have the honor to state that the Chief 8i<iual <>ftieer of the Army has, by 
letter dated the 5th instant, reported to this Department the receipt, per steamer 
Proteus, from Ivieutenanr A. W. Gh-eely, U. S. Army, eonimandiugf the Lady Frank- 
lin Bay Expedition, of six packages of periodicals, newspapers, letters and desiiatches, 
being a part of the records of Her Britannic Majesty's ships Discovery and Alert. 

Said report was accompanied with certain papers relating to the subject, which 
papers (17 in number) are herewith enclosed, with request that they be transmitted 
to Her Majesty's Government, asking for information as to the disposition which it 
desires shall be made of the several packages tirst herein referred to. 
Very respectfullv. vour obedient -servant. 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L.B. 95-29. C. 260. W. D. ]'<82.1 
Nunibei- 2 J . 

War Defaktmknt, 
Washhtgton Cifi/, Afarch 13//», 1882. 
Hon. L. F. Grover, 

Of Com. on Mil. Affairs, United Sfaies Senate: 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th of Jan- 
uary last, enclosing S. 400, "A bill authorizing full pay to Lieutenant Frederick 
Schwatka, United States Army, while on leave to serve in command of'the Franklin 
search expedition in the Arctic," and requesting to be furnisht-d a copy of the order 
granting this officer a leave of absence from March .5th, 1878, to October 1st, 1880, and 
copies of any records of the Department touching the subject-matter of said bill, and 
also requesting my views on the objects of the proposed legislation. 

In reply, I beg to invite your attention to the enclosed report, dated the 9th instant, 
from the Adjutant- General, and accompanying copies of orders in relation to the de- 
tail of the above-named ofticer. 

In view of the fact that Lieutenant Schwatka was on leave of absence and per- 
formed no military service during the period mentioned in the bill, it is not deemed 
proper to charge the military appropriations with the amount necessary to meet tho 
requirements of the bill. 

Yerv respectfullv. vour obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 57-58. 1888 G. W. B. 1882.] 
Number 22. 

War Department. 
WaHhivgton Ciiii, Ma>/ lOth, 188-2. 
The honorable the Secketarv of the Navy: 

Sir: Having to-day approved a request of the Chief Signal Officer that an agent be 
sent at once to St. John, Newfoundland, whose duty it will be, whenever appropria- 
tion shall be made, to charter a steamer < f proper chiracter to be ready July 1st to 
proceed to Lady P^ranklin Bay with the fresh supplies for Lieut. Greely's expedition, 
I have the honor to request that an officer of the Navy be ordered to St. John to assist 
in selecting a suitable vessel at as early a date as convenient. A similar order was 
isaired by the Navy Department last year. 

Very respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



236 APPENDIX. 

[L. B. 77-87. 1919 B. W. D. 1882.] 
Number 23. 

War Department. 
JVashingfon Cili/, Mcuj 17th, 1882. 
The Chief Signal Officer : 

General; Referring to your letter of the 12th instant, in regard to the expedition 
to Lady Franklin Bay, the Secretary of War desires you to furnish him, as soon to- 
day as possible, a statement, not in very great detail, showing the general character 
of the disbursement of the appropriation of last year of $25,000 for this purpose. 
Yours, very respcctfullv, 

JOHN TWEEDALE, 

Act'nuj Chief L'hrh. 



[L. B. 17-90. 1919 B. W. D. 1882.] 

Number 24. 

War Department, 
Washington City, May 18th, 1882. 
The President: 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith a coiuniuuication addressed to this De- 
partment, under date of the 12th instant, by Captain James W. Powell, Jr., Acting- 
Chief Signal Officer, in which he represents the necessity of a special appropriation 
being made not later than June 1st, proximo, for the purpose of dispatching a vessel 
with men and supplies for the relief of the expedition which was last year sent to 
Lady Franklin Bay, Griunell's Land, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1881, containing 
an appropriation of $25,000 ''for continuing the work of scientific observation on or 
near the shores of Lady Franklin Bay, afid for transportation of men and supplies to 
said locatiofi, and return." [21 Stats., p. 447.] 

Observing that mention is made by the Acting Chief Signal Officer of an understand- 
ing had, that the party composing the expedition of last year would remain at the point 
of their destination, to be visited year by year, whenever the state of navigation ren- 
dered it possible, until finally recalled, I have to remark that I know of no such under- 
standing. 

The original act of 1880 authorized the establishment of a ''temporary station^" and 
the act of March -id, 1881, made an apfiropriation for the "transportation of men and 
supplies to said location and return." 

I enclose a statement showing the general character of the distribution made by the 
Chief Signal Officer of the appropriation of last year, from which it will be seen that 
the approjjriation was exhausted in the jiurchase of such supplies as are not included 
in regular Army supplies, and in the transportation of the expedition to its station, 
leaving no provision for its return. 

It is manifestly of extreme importance in view of the present situation of the offi- 
cers and men of this expedition that provision be made at once, by appropriation, for 
an expedition to Lady Franklin Bay either to reinforce and resupply them, or to bring 
them home. 

In view of these facts I have respectfully to recommend that the attention of Con- 
gress be invited to the subject. 

1 have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of JVar. 



[L. B. 38-58. 1919-2272. B. W. D., 188:.] 
Ifumber 25. 

War Department, 
Washington City, June 9th, 1882. 
Hon. Frank Hiscock, 

Chairman Com. on Appropriations, House of Representatives : 
Sir : On the 22nd of May last the President transmitted to Congress a recommenda- 
tion from this Department that a special apyjropriatiou be made by Congress for an 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, supplementary to the one sent last year under the 
act of March 3, 1881, and for its relief. In the communication of the Chief Signal Of- 
ficer, which was transmitted by the President, it was stated that the safety of the 
officers and men who have voluntarily gone to those inhospitable and inaccessible 
regions may be jeopardized by delay to grant the necessary funds. 

In the estiiu\(ites for the next fiscal year (page 182 of the Book of Estimates) is an 



APPENDIX. 237 

item for this purpose ; but, as the suudry civil bill has not yet been reached, and as I am 
advised by the Chief Signal Officer that it is of the utmost importance that an appro- 
priation should be itiimediately made so that a relief vessel may be hired to start 
from St. John's without any delay to avoid the danger of its being prevented by ice 
from reaching Lady Frauklin Bay, I am led to call your attenton to this subject and 
to respectfully urge that the matter may have special attention, and I would suggest 
the propriety of an appropriation by a separate joint resolution. It is the wish, as I 
understand, of the Chief Signal Officei", who has immediate charge of this subject, to 
take up additional men and supplies needed for the esj)edition already there, and to 
bring back such of the party who went last year as circumstances may require. 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours, 

ROBEET T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 99-229. 2569 B. W. D. 1882. Telegram.] 

Number 26. 

War Department, 
Washington City, June 22nd, 1882. 
Hon. O. D. Conger, 

JJ. S. Senate : 
House resolution 239 appropriating $33,000 for Lady Frauklin Bay Expedition ap- 
pears by record to have been referred in Senate June 19, to Committee on Commerce. 
Time is getting very short, and I suggest the advisability of pressing the passage if 
it can be done. 

ROBEET T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 97-233. 2581 B. W. D. 1882.] 
^ Naraber 27. 

War Department, 
Washington City, June 27th, 1882. 
To the President: 

Sir: I have the honor to return herewith act H. Ees. 239 "Making an appropriation 
to continue the work of observation and exploration in the Arctic Seas," received with 
your lett«r of yesterday's date, and in reply to your inquiry, I beg to state that this 
Department knows of no objection to iis approval. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBEET T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



L. B. 98-140. A. 2553. W. D. 1882.] 

Number 28. 

War Departmknt, 
Washington City, June 30th, 1882. 
To the Surgeon-General : 

General : I will thank you to furnish me with a copy of the contract made witk 
Assistant Surgeon G. S. Oldmixon for duty with the expedition to Point Barrow, 
Alaska. 

Very respectfully, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L.B. 96-275. 2591 C. W. D., 1882.] 

Number 29. 

War Depa rt.vient, 

Washington City, July 3rf, 1882. 

The honorable Secretary of State: 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for svich action as may be deemed ap- 
propriate, a letter of the 26th ultimo from the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, request 



238 APPENDIX. 

ing that the thanks of the Department be tendered to the United States Consul at St 
John's, Newfoundland, for his services to the Signal Corps in procviring a vessel and 
stores for the relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay. 
Verv respectfuUv, vonr obedient servant, 

ROBERT T, LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 

[L. B. 97-3L'9. 901 A. W. D. 1882.] 
K umber 30. 

Wah Defaktmejmt, 

Jt'd.slniigiun Citij, Jul)/ 17 th 1882. 
f he honorable the .Skcrktakv c»f Statk : 

Sir : Referrinii to your letter of Maxell Kith last, in relation to certain packages and 
papers of her Britannic Majesty's ships "Discovery" and "Alert," received from 
Lieutenant A. W. Greely, connnanding- the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, I have the 
honor to enclose herewitli a letter upon the subject from the Chief Signal Otticer of 
the Army, dated the 12th instant, from whicli it will be perceived, that said package. 
&c., will be shipped at once from his office to New York City: thence by American 
and European Express, at the expense of the United States, to the Admiralty, Lon- 
don, England. 

Verv respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WM. E. CHANDLER, 

Aotiiuf Secretary of fVur. 

[L. lJ.97-511. ;>y74C. W.D., 1882.] 
Number 31. 

War Depaktment, 
Washington City, September \Qtli, 1882. 
The Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. : 

Sir : I am directed by the Secretary of War to inform you, in answer to j^ur in- 
quiry dated the 8th instant, that he has approved your recommendations dated the 
10th ultimo, for the appointment of Private W. M. Beebe, gen'l service U. S. A., now 
on duty with the Ladj' Franklin Bay Expedition, as a clerk of class one in your office, 
and for the transfer of Sergeant Wm. H. Cross, gen'l service, now with the Lady 
Franklin Bay Expedition, and Private John Balster, gen'l service, now on duty 
as watchman in your office, to the Signal Corps, whenever vacancies occur. 

The return of Sergeant Cross and Private Beebe should be reported to the Secretary 
of War immediately upon their arrival, so that the necessary action may be taken to 
carry out your recommendation. 

Private Balster can be transferred to the Signal Coi-ps as soon as notice is received 
that a vacancy exists ; he must, however, under the act making appropriations for 
the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1883, be discharged from the general service before October 1, 
1882. 

Very respectfully, 

JAY STONE. 

Acting Chief Cleric. 



[L. B. 98-453. 4299 A. W. D., 1882.] 
Number 32. 

War Department, 
Washington City, September 25tk, 1882. 
Hon. RoiiERT T. Lincoln, 

Secretary of War. 

(On Chicago train westwai'd bound, Harrisburgh, Pa.) 

Acting Chief Signal Officer asks that Quai'termaster-General be directed to tele- 
grai)h authority to provide transportation for the parties comprising supply expedi- 
tion sent to Lady Franklin Bay last July returning here from Newfoundland. June 
last you approved recommendation of the Quartermaster-General for transportation 
from here to Newfoundland. Do you approve present request? 

JOHN TWEEDALE 

Chief Clerh. 



APPENDIX. 23^^ 

[L. B. 98-459. B 4102. W. D. 1882.] 
Number 33. 

War Department, 

Washington City, September 26th, 1882. 
To the President : 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a draft of a general order, which directs- 
that whenever officers, civil employes, or enlisted men belonging to, or detailed from 
the Army for dnty with the Signal Service United States Army, are ordered by the 
Secretary of War to duty in Alaska or on the Arctic stations they will be paid four 
months' advance pay and allowances on presentation of the order of assignment to 
the proper disbursing officers. I also beg to invite your attention to the remarks of 
the Chief Sigual Officer of the Army, contained in his letter of the 18th instant — copy 
herewith. 

The Secretary of War requests me to forward these papers to you with the recom- 
mendation that the General Order be approved for issue. 

I have the honor to be, verv respectfiillv, your obedient servant, 

JOHN TWEEDALE, 

Chief CI trl: 



[L. B. 992. 4625. B. W. D. 1882.] 
Number 34. 

War Department, 
Washington City {no date), 18 — . 
<jEneral Orders ^ 
No. — . 5 

The President has approved the following orders, under section 3648 of the Revised 
Statiites : 

Whenever officers, civil employes, or enlisted men, belonging to or detailed from 
the Army, are ordered by the Secretary of AVar to duty in Alaska, or on the Arctic 
Stations, they will be paid four months' advance pay and allowances on presentation 
of the order of assignment to the proper disbursing officers ; and all persons assigned 
to duty in like manner, at Pike's Peak, Colorado, and Mount Washington, New Hamp- 
shire, will be paid three months' advance pay and allowances. 



Approved. 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



[L. B. 100-25. 4922 C. W. D. 1882.] 

Number 35. 

War Department, \ 

Washington City, Octoher '31st, 1882. 
The Honorable the Secretary of State: 

Sir : I have the Jionor to enclose herewith a letter of the 26th ultimo from the Chief 
Signil Officer of the Army, and to ask, in accordance with the recommendation therein 
submitted, that the thanks of the Department be appropriately tendered to Mr. Molloy, 
consul at St. John's, Newfoundland for the valuable assistance rendered by him in the 
outfit of the supply expedition to Lieutenant Greely of this year. 
Very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



fL. B. 102-317. B. 1352. AV. D. 1883.] 

Number 36. 

War Department, 
Washington City, March lUh, 1863. 

W. H. GiLDEN, Esq., 

Herald Office, New York City: 
Sir : I am in receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, tendering your services to 
accompany the party to be organized for the relief of Lieutenant Greely in the Arctic 
regions. 



240 APPENDIX. 

lu reply, I beg to state that a sufficient party for the purpose stated has already 
been selected at the request of the Chief Sigual Officer of the Army, and that the 
service of any one additional to those already ordered to be detailed will not be needed. 
Verv respectfully, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



fL. B. 102-389. B. 1773. W. D. 1883.1 

Number 37. 

War Department, 
Washington City, April 6th, 1883. 
To the Chief Signal Officer of the Army : 

Sir: The act making appropriations for the sundry civil- expenses of the Govern- 
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 18H4, provides that there shall not be ex- 
pended from an jr moneys appropriated by the act entitled "An act making appropria- 
tions for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and for 
other purposes," any money for the support of the Signal Service or Corps, except 
the pay of such commissioned officers as the Secretary of War may detail for -service 
in that corps. 

It is undoubtedly by inadvertence that provision was not therein made for the pay, 
etc., of the enlisted men of the Army detailed for the Lady Franklin Bay exi>edition, 
and such legislation as may be necessary to correct the inadvertence can be easily 
procured early in the next session of Congress. 

If I am correctly informed, the detailed men now at Lady Franklin Bay, excepting 
Sergeant William H. Cross, general service U. S. Army, left no voucheis on which 
their pay could be collected, and therefore the prohibition is of no practical conse- 
quence for the present, except as to Sergeant Cross. If he is a man of family, and 
the vouchers left by him are in the nature of a provision for his family during his 
absence, I would be disposed to use such authority as I may have to enable his vouch- 
rs to be paid as though the prohibition did not exist, trusting to my action being 
hereafter ratified by Congress. 

The prohibition equally applies to the eight enlisted men of the line who have been 
detailed but who have not yet started upon the relief expedition. Two ways occur 
to me for taking care of them. One is that they should be discharged from their 
present enlistment and enlisted in the Signal Corps. This is perhaps objectionable, 
as you will undoubtedly need all of the force authorized to be enlisted in the Signal 
Corps for conducting the business of the military telegraph lines and the weather 
bureau service. Another course which may be practicable would be the procurement 
of an advance of their pay by direction of the President, under section 3648 of the 
Revised Statutes. There are some objections to this course which are obvious, and 
I would be glad to have your views and any suggestions which you may be able to 
make in the matter. 

Verv respectfullv, yours, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 101-497. 2197 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 38. 

War Department, 
Washington City, May 8th, 1883. 
Mrs. LiLLA M. Pavy, 

Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio: 
Madam: In response to your letter of the 30th ultimo, requesting that diligent 
search may be made for certain letters addressed by you to your husband. Dr. Octave 
Pavy, on duty at Lady Franklin Bay, and that when found they be returned to you, 
I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a report dated the 4th instant, from 
the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, on the subject, from which it will be seen that 
the letters as described by you cannot be found. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War, 



APPENDIX. 241 

[L. B. 102-514. 2323 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 39. 

War Department, 
Washington City, May 14th, 1883. 
The honoralile the Secretary of the Navy : 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith for your information and such action 
as may be deemed proper in the premises, a letter of the 10th instant, from the Chief 
Signal Officer of the Army, requesting that application be made for the detail of an 
•officer of the United States Navy to inspect the vessel to be selected for the relief ex- 
pedition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay, and suggesting the name of Chief Engi- 
neer Melville as a most suitable one for that duty. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 102-519. 2366 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 40. 

War Department, 
Washington City, May lith, 1883. 
The honorable Secretary of the Navy: 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you a communication from the Chief Signal 
Officer, bearing this date, on the subject of the relief of the Lady Franklin Bay Expe- 
dition. 

A relief expedition failed to reach this party last year, and it is very important that 
it should be relieved during the approaching summer. 

Under recent legislation by Congress it will be necessary, if possible, not only to 
relieve the party by furnishing supplies, but to bring it home. A specitic appropri- 
ation to be disbursed by this Department has been made which is only sufficient to 
hire one vessel, and the Chief Signal Officer thinks that much valuable assistance 
would be given if a naval vessel could also lie sent. 

It is important that the relief expedition should not fail this year, and I commend 
the application of the Chief Signal Officer to your favorable consideration. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L, B. 104-183. 2974 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 41. 

War Department, 
Washington City, June 2'Sd, 1883. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Navy : 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose to you a copy of a communication this day received 
by me from the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, and of a telegram enclosed therein, 
to all of which I invite your attention. 

I am anxious that the relief expedition mentioned by the Chief Signal Officer should 
not fail in reaching and bringing home Lieutenant Greely and his party. It is repre- 
sented to me that Lieutenant Colwell of the Navy, now at St. John's, is anxious to 
volunteer to accompany Lieutenant Garlington and that his services would be of 
great value, especially in view of the fact that Lieutenant Garlington's party has 
been materially reduced by accident and by desertion. 

I have, therefore, the honor to request that, if Lieutenant Col well's services can be 
spared for this duty, and you see no objection to his performing it, the necessary 
orders may be given lay telegraph. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
S. Ex. 100— AP 16 



242 APPENDIX. 

[L. B. 104-129. 303 A. W. D. 1883.1 
Number 42. 

War Department, 
Washington City, July 7th, 1883 
Mr. William Atherton, 

La Clair, DeKalb County, Illinois : 
Sir: Thie Department is in receipt, by reference from the Navy Department, of 
your letter of tlie 27tli ultimo, inquiring whether O. F. Moritz has sailed with this 
year's relief expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, and stating that his wife, at whose in- 
stance you write, is without means of support. 

In reply I beg to inform you that upon a reference of the subject to the Chief Signal 
Officer of the Army, he reports, under date of the 3d instant, as follows : 

"Artificer OrYille F. Moritz, Co. "A," 17th Infantry, sailed with the relief expe- 
dition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay. He drew advance pay to include Octo- 
ber 31st, and left a request, with receipted vouchers, that his pay after that date be 
deposited to the credit of H. E. Moritz, Salem, Kichardson County, Nebraska. 
Whether or not this is his wife, or a deposit to her benefit, this office has no informa- 
tion." 

Very respectfully, 

EOBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 104-146. 3228 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 43. 

War Department, 
Washington City, July lAth, 1883. 
Mrs. Allie Moritz, 

La Clair, Tils. : 
Madam : In reply to your inquiry under date of the 5th instant, I beg to inform 
you that the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, to whom your inquiry was referred, re- 
ports that Artificer OrvUle F. Moritz, Company "A" 17th Infantry, sailed with the 
relief expedition of this year to Lady Franklin Bay, and that he drew advance pay 
to include October Slst next, and left a request with receipted vouchers that his pay 
^fter that date be deposited to the credit of H. E. Moritz, Salem, Nebraska. 
Very respectfully, 

JOHN TWEEDALE, 

Chief Clerk 
(For the Secretary of War in his absence) . 



[L. B. 104-313. 4076 B. W. D. 1883.] 
Number 44. 

War Department, 
Washington City, September I9ih, 1883. 
The honorable the Secretary op the Navy: 

Sir : In accordance with the request of the Acting Chief Signal Officer of the Army, 
as conveyed by his enclosed letter of the 17th instant, I have the honor to ask that you 
will please provide by telegraphic oi dt rs for the return of Lieutenant Garlington and 
his party by the first naval vessel leaving St. John's, N. F., for a port of the United 
States (probably to New York), and that early information of the time of departure 
and destination of the vessel be furnished this Department, in order that arrange- 
ments may be made for the transportation of the party to this city. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 



[L. B. 104-385. 4270 B. W. D. 1883. 
Number 45. 

War Department, 
Washington City, October 23rd, 1883. 
Rev. M. Stone, 

Care of B. M. Stone, Omaha, Neb. : 
Sir : Acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 30th ultimo making inquiry 
respecting the pay due to Dr. Octave Pavy of the Greely Arctic Expedition, I beg to 



APPENDIX. 243 

inform you that the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, to whom the matter was referred, 
reports under date of the 20th instant as follows: " Probably through carelessness 
Dr. Pavy sent back to this country from Lady Franklin Bay only two sets of vouchers 
upon which Maj. Wm. Smith, paymaster, paid to Mrs. Pavy, by check No. 16,153, two 
hundred (200) dollars, and by check No. 16,151 nine hundred and thirty-six (936) dol- 
lars and sixty-seven (67) cents. 

"In the absence of other vouchers or of any general power of attorney, it has been 
impossible to make further payments to Mrs. Pavy. 

"A letter from Mrs. Pavy to the Chief Signal Officer has been answered, in which 
such explanations were given as were necessary to her full understanding of the mat- 
ter. The stories told by the Eskimo regarding the death of Dr. Pavy are not credited 
by this office." 

"Very respectfully, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Seeretary of War. 

[L. B. 173-382. 4489 B. W. D. 1883. | 
Number 46. 

War Department, 
Washington City, October 2ith, 1883. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Navy : 

Sir : In compliance with your memorandum request of the 22nd instant, I have the 
honor to enclose herewith, for your information, a copy of the record left at Cape 
Sabine for Lieutenant Greely, by Lieutenant E. A. Garlington, 7th Cavalry, com- 
manding the late Greely Relief Exijedition. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

^ ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Searetary of War. 



Headquarters Department of the Pxatte, 
Judge-Advocate's Office, 
Omaha, Nebraska, Nov. 27th, 1883. 
Personally appeared before me, H. B. Burnham, judge-advocate U. S. Army, and 
judge-advocate Department of the Platte, John P. Hawkins, an officer of the Subsist- 
ence Department U. S. Army, who, being duly sworn, de'poses as follows : 'J'hat he 
was stationed at New York City from August 1st, 1879, to September 22nd, 1883, and dur- 
ing that period was engaged in the purchase of subsistence stores for the U. S. Army ; 
that in the month of June, 1882, he purchased and invoiced to Lieut. A. W. Greely, 
.")th Cavalry, then preparing for an expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, a quantity of 
subsistence stores, a copy of the invoice of which is here appended, marked No. 17, 
and of date 13th day of June, 1882, and officially signed by him as a true copy ; that 
in the month of May, 1883, he purchased and invoiced to Lieut. E. A. Garlington, 7th 
Cav'y, then preparing for an expedition for the relief of Lieut. Greely, a quantity 
of subsistence stores, a copy of the invoice of which is here appended, marked No. 29, 
and of date 31st day of May, 1883, and officially signed by him. He further deposes 
that the stores on said invoices were furnished by direction of the Com's'y-Gen'l 
of Subst. ; that*they were of the best quality lobe had in the city of New York; 
that special care was taken in the selection of the stores, and in their packing, 
with a view to their best preservation ; that during the time of the purchase and 
packing of the said stores he had frequent consultations with the said Greely and 
said Garlington concerning quality of the articles, varieties, and modes of packing, 
and that much interest was always shown by them in these details, and a desire man- 
ifested that everything possible should be done to insure a perfect quality and a suit- 
able variety, of stores; and he further expresses his belief that so far as the sub- 
sistence stores are concerned, and especially in relation to these embraced in invoice 
No. 29, of 31st day of May, 1883, there was never a better outfit furnished for any ex- 
pedition of like nature, by land or bv sea, both as concerns quality and variety of food. 

JOHN P. HAWKINS, 

Maj. C. S. 
Sworn and subscribed before me, at Omaha, Nebraska, this 27th day of November, 
1883 

4 H. B. BURNHAM, 

Judge-Advocate U. S. A., and Judge- Advocate Dept, of the Platte. 



244 



APPENDIX. 



f8 1384.— D.E.., 1888.1 

No, 17. 

Invoice of subsistence stores turned over at Neiv York City, this I'Sth day of June, 1882, hy 
Major John P. Hawkins, C. S., to Lt, Colonel H. C. Hodges, deputy quarte)'master- 
general, U. S. A., for transportation and delivery to Lt. A. W. Gh-eely, 5th Cav'y, A. 
S. O. and A. C. S., at Lady Franklin Bay, 



Articles and quantities. 



Cost. 



9 boxes 

8 " 
20 kits . . 
42 casks 

2 casks 

15 h'f bbls . 

4 boxes . . . 

5 " ... 

20 sacks . . . 

1 box 

9 " 

10 " 

2 h'f bbls - 

21 boxes . .. 

1 package . 

28 casks . . . 

2 boxes . . . 
10 " ... 

3 " ... 

2 " ... 

6 " ... 
17 " ... 

7 " ... 

4 " ... 

20 " ... 
9 " ... 

8 " ... 

17 " ... 
10 " ... 

1 " ... 
6 " ... 
1 " ... 
6 boxes... 
25 " ... 

6 " ... 

3 kegs 

1 package 

7 " 

6 boxes. . . 

1 " ... 

3 " ... 

16 " ... 

2 " 

1 " ... 

1 " ... 

2 " ... 

5 " ... 
5 " ... 
5 h'f bbls. 

8 boxes. .. 
2 h'f bbls . 
2 boxes... 
1 " ... 
1 " ... 

18 " ... 

Salt 

21 boxes... 
1 " ... 
1 " ... 

29 " ... 

7 kegs 

5 '"■ . . . 

8 h'f bbls. 

4 boxes. . - 
4 " ... 
1 " ... 
1 " ... 



1,002 p'ds bacon p'r p'd. 

192 cans beef, roast, 2 lb " doz.. 

20 kits fish, pickled mackerel, 20 lb " kit.. 

5,000 p'ds hard bread " p'd. . 

411 " cheese " " .. 

672 " corn-meal " " .. 

1,916 " sugar.'; " " .. 

240 " soap " " .. 

100 " " saltwater " " .. 

1,000 " salt " " .. 

25 " pepper " " .. 

108 " yeast powder " " .. 

240 cans apples, 31b " doz. . 

161 p'ds bacon, b'kfast " p'd.. 

1,512 " butter '.' ".. 

96 " chocolate " " .. 

8,400 " flour.family " " .. 

12 " ginger " " .. 

1,000 " hams,S.C " ".. 

30 " hops " " .. 

48 cans jam, blackberry " doz.. 

144 " jelly, currant " " .. 

1,020 p'ds larcl " p'd.. 

336 cans lobster, 1 lb " doz. . 

576 boxes matches, safety " gross 

960 cans milk " cans. 

968 p'ds oatmeal " p'd. . 

96 bottles oil, olive, "Italian" " doz.. 

408 cans onions, 3 lb " " 

240 " peaches, 31b " " 

50 p'ds " evaporated " p'd.. 

144 cans peas, green, "'Am." " doz.. 

10 p'ds pepper, Chili-Colorado ." p'd.. 

72 jars pickles, C. & B., ass'ted, quarts.. p'r doz. . 

600 cans potatoes, 3 lb .* " "... 

144 " preserve, damson " "... 

160 p'ds prunes " p'd.. 

20 boxes raisins, L. L., J's " box . 

103 p'ds " Sultana " p'd.. 

144 cans salmon, 2 lb " doz.. 

17 bags salt, table, 3 lb " bag . 

72 cans sauce, cranberry " doz. . 

192 bottles" " " "... 

48 " " Worcestershire, p'ts " "... 

48 cakes soap, toilet, Cow dray's, ass'ted.. " "... 

72 " " " Ko. 90 " "... 

144 " " " palm " "... 

120 cans soup, mock-turtle " "... 

120 " " ox-tail " "... 

460 p'ds sugar, cnt " p'd .. 

40 gall's syrup " gall . 

45J " " N. O. molasses " " . 

12 " " maple " " . 

25 p'ds tobacco, smok'g. Lone Jack " p'd.. 

25 " " " Durham " " .. 

432 cans tomatoes, 3 lb " doz.. 

24 towels, No. 30 " " ... 

24 " " 98 " "... 

24 " "220 " "... 

504 cans egss, condensed " can . 

150 p'ds farina " p'd.. 

303 " figs " " .. 

696 cans rhubarb, 3 lb " doz . . 

70 gall's pickles, cucumbers " gall . 

50 " " onions " " . 

128 " " sauerkraut " " . 

48 bottles preserve, peaches " doz.. 

96 cans strawberries, 2 lb " " 

60 p'ds onions, evaporated " p'd.. 

60 " potatoes " " " .. 



$0 14 

3 45 
1 75 

^ 
lU 

91 

22 
40 
1 50 
18 
38 
37 

41t 
16i 
25 

4 20 

4 00 
14 • 

1 65 

3 55 

16 

7 2 

7 20 
3 50 

3 60 
46 

1 75 
47 

5 75 

2 50 

4 35 

9 

1 13 
13 

3 00 

2 40 

3 83 

4 65 
3 25 

96 

1 02 

2 75 
2 62J 

11* 

91 

88 
1 41f 
1 20 

49i 
1 55 

1 85 

2 30 

3 30 
18 

14 

1 75 
70 
95 
Mi 

12 00 

2 50 

IStVc 



(Signed) 
A true copy. 



JOHN P. HAWKINS, 

Major and O. S. 

JOHN P. HAWKINS, 

Major ond O. S. 



APPENDIX. 



245 



No. 29. 

Invoice of suhsistence stores turned over at New York City, this 31.sif day of May, 1883, by 
Major John P. Hawkins, C. S., to Lt. E. A. Garlington, 7th Cav'y, A. C. S., at New York 
City, New York. 



20bbls 

95 boxes 

8 " 

37 casks 

121 " 

12 boxes 

6bbls 

1 " 

3 boxes 

7 " 

17 " 

2bbls 

2 " 

25 boxes 

6 sacks 

6 boxes 

3 packages < 

3 boxes 

26h'fbbls 

5^bbls 

3 boxes 

8 " 

5 " 

10 sacks 

2 boxes 

17 " 

1 ■' 

15 " 

4h'fbbls 

6 boxes 

1 " 

6b'fbbls 

1 box 

14 " 

3 packages 

8 boxes 

" 

: .. ;::::::;::y 

1 " 

1 " 

With towels | 

17 boxes 

50 packages ^ 

1 box 

1 " 

Sh'fbbls 

2 boxes 

4 " 

lOh'fbbls 

5 boxes 

1 " 

6 " 

25 " 

10 " 

20 " 

2 " 

1 " 

With towels < 

With French pe^s . . . 

8 boxes 

8 " 

3 packages 

8 boxes 

4 " 

4 " 

4 " 

3 boxes 

2 " 

12 " 

' •■ I 



20 barrels pork per bbl. 

9,500 p'ds bacon { ^' i^o ' ' ' ::::;:;::::::: •' SI 

192 cans beef, roast, 2 lb " doz 

11, 856 p'ds flour " p'd 

14,000 " htrdbread " " 

960 " corn-meal " " 

1,614 " beans " " 

250 " " black " " 

144 cans " baked, lib " doz 

168 " " " 2" " " 

408 " " " 3^' " " 

420 p'ds peas " p'd 

593 " rice " " 

2,500 " hominy " " 

1,032 " coffee, green " " 

480 " " roasted and ground " " 

198 "' tea, black, oolong " " 

14 " •' " Eng. b'kfast " " 

120 " " green, gunpowder " " 

3,587 " sugar ' -. " " 

171 gall's vinegar " gall 

90 p'ds candles " p'd 

525 ' ' soap " " 

100 " " saltwater " " 

1,000 " salt " " 

50 " pepper " " 

204 " yeast powder " " 

5 " allspice " " 

360 cans apples, 3 lb " doz 

250 p'ds " dried " p'd 

300 " " evaporated " " 

24 cans asparagus " doz 

487 p'ds bacon, breakfast " p'd 

24 brushes, hair, large. . - per doz 

1, 008 p'ds butter " p'd 

395 " chee.se " '" 

96 cheeses, Edam " cheese 

96 p'ds chocolate " p'd 

500 cigars, "Cheif" " M 

500 " "Queen" " " 

5 p'ds cinnamon "" p'J 

5 " cloves " " 

42 combs, coarse, horn, medium " doz 

42 " fine, " " 

408 cans corn, green " " 

150 tins crackers, soda, 5 lb " tin 

150 " " water wafer, 5 lb . . " '' 

48 bottles extract lemon, 4 oz " doz 

24 " " vanilla, 4 oz " " 

800 p'ds flour, family " " 

96 p'k'ts gelatine " doz 

20 p'ds ginger " p'd 

960 " hams.S.C " 

50 " hops " " 

24 cans jam, blackberry " doz 

144 " jelly, currant " " 

1, 500 p'ds lard " p'd 

250 " macaroni " " 

960 cans raUk " can 

24 p'ds mustard " p'd 

24 bottles " French " * doz 

24 papers needles " " 

50 needles, darning " M 

4 p'ds nutmegs " p'd 

600 " oatmeal " " 

96 bottles oil, olive, Berier " doz 

120 p'ds onions, evaporated " p'd 

192 cans " 3 1b " doz 

96 " oysters, 21b " 

96 " peaches, 3 lb " " 

96 " " "piefruit" " " 

150 p'ds peaches, dried per p'd 

100 " " evaporated " " 

288 cans peas, green, American , " doz 

50 " " " Fiench " can 

20 p'ds pepper, Chili-Colorado " p'd 



$20 00 

14i 

15' 

3 25 

4J 

6J 

4J 

1 in 

1 47j 
1 65 
n^ 
6i 
4i 
8| 
17 
821 



15 
6t% 

1t% 
23 1% 
40 

m 

1 15 

3 25 
18£- 
13 00 
35 

J-'raff 

89 

39 
31 00 
58 00 

68^ 

56f 
1 02 

57* 
1 65" 

99 
1 03i 

3 40 

4 50 

CIS 

1 62 

38i 

17f 
1 05 
4 25 
4 00 

14i 

16 

47* 
1 62| 

42 
1 05 

1 55 

7_P4 
'lUTS 

7 20 

50 

3 50 

2 25 

3 75 

1 65 

9 
30 

2 25 
23 
42 



||46 APPENDIX. 

Invoice of subsistence stores turned over at New York City, cfc. — Coutinued. 



A rticles and. quantities. 



Total cost. 



6 boxes 

15 kegs 

14 " 

1 box 

with towels . . . 

1 bos 

■■2 " 

1 " 

■:2 " 

2 package 

■2 " 

1 box 

1 " 

1 " 

6 " 

^1 '• 

2 " 

1 " 

•6 " 

] " 

1 " 

1 " 

2 " 

2 " 

2 " 

2 " 

1 package 

2 boxes 

5 h'f bbls 

7 boxes 

2 ' 

7 boxes 

1 box 

With hair brushes • < 

15 boxes 

4 " 

1 " !!...!..""' 

20 " 

42 " 

1 " 

2 " ....• 

1 " 

6 " '.\l[."]^[[[l 
1 " 

3 " 

1 " 

2 " 

4 " 

2 " 

1 " 

3 " 

25 " 

3 packages 

2h'fbbls 

19 " " 

4 boxes 

2 " 

5 " !!"!!!!""" 

1 " 

2 " 

4 kegs 

1 box 

20 " 

2 " 

4 " ] I" ].'.['.'.'.[[[[ 
With curry powder . . 

12 boxes 

10 boxes 

25 " 

1 " 

4 " 

151-bbls 

7 boxes 

C " 

30 kegs 

2 boxes 

12 " 



72 jars pickles, C. & B., ass'ted, quarts 

150 gall's " onions 

140 " " cucumbers 

24 cans pineapple 

48 papers pins 

48 pipes, briar-wood, No. 2 

24 " " " No.l 

100 pipe-stems, cherry 

48 cans preserve, damson 

55 p'ds prunes, French 

110 " " Turkish 

10 boxes raisins, L. L., J's 

219 p'ds " Sultana 

24 cans salmon, 2 lb 

33 bags salt, table, 3 lb 

100 boxes sardines, J 

144 cans sauce, cranbeny, 2 1b 

264 cans " " ' 21b 

48 bottles " Worcestershire, pints 

48 cakes soap, toilet, Low's B. W 

400 " " " white castile .. , 

72 " " " Giumauve , 

72 " " " No.90 

72 " " " palm 

48 cans soup, ox-tail , 

48 " " mock-turtle 

48 " " mutton, with barley . . . 

48 " " ■ chicken 

72 p'k'ts " vegetables 

40 p'ds starch, com . - 

500 ' ' sugar, cut loaf , 

42 gall's syrup 

12 " " maple 

42 gall's syrup, N. O. molasses 

25 p'ds tapioca 

48 spools thread, linen, white 

48 " " " black 

600 p'ds tobacco, plug 

100 " " smok'g. Lone Jack .. . 

50 " " " Little Joker. 

500 " " " Durham 

1,008 cans tomatoes, 2 lb 

120 towels, No. 98 

150 p'ds wheat, cracked 

24 cans Chili con-carne 

72 " beans, lima 

144 " " string 

24 ' ' blackberries 

72 " brawn, 31b 

12 bot's celery salt 

100 p'ds cherries, dried 

96 cans chicken, roast 

96 " chipped beef 

6 bot's curry powder, i pints 

166 p'ds dates 

600 cans eggs, condensed 

293 p'ds figs 

200 " flour, buckwheat 

1,000 " " rye 

150 " farina.'- 

12 jars ginger preserve, ^ p'ts 

120 cans gooseberries, 2 lb 

24 " herbs- -- 

48 bot's horse-radish 

40 gall's juice, lime 

24 cans mince-meat, 5 lb 

480 cans mutton, roast, 2 lb 

288 boxes matches, wax 

576 " " sulphur 

5 p'ds mustard-seed 

288 cans okra, 3 lb 

600 p'ds potatoes, evaporated 

eOOcans " 31b 

12 bot's peaches, preserve 

48 cans plnms, 1 gall , 

15 J-barrols pigs' feet 

168 cans rhubarb, 3 lb 

144 " raspberries, 2 lb 

300 gall's sauer kraut 

48 cans strawberries, 2 lb 

288 " sau8age,21b , 



-perdoz.. 
- '/_. gall. 

. " doz. 

. " gross 



doz 
p'd 

box 

doz 
bag 
box 
doz 



-- ;;gaii 

.per gall. 

■ !! ^'^ ■ 

. ' doz. 

: " p'd" 



doz. 

p'd! 

doz. 



p'd. 
doz. 



p'd. 
doz. 
p'd. 



doz. 



gall- 
doz. 
doz. 
gross 



. " p'd. 
. " doz. 
.per p'd 
- " doz 



Jbbl 
doz 

gall 
doz 



$5 75 
85 
45 

3 95 
62/rf 

48 25 
40 75 
10 65 

4 20 
13i 

8 

90 

14 

3 00 

41 
32 

2 00 

3 00 

4 70 
1 68|- 
1 00 
1 00 

951 

1 02 

2 624 
2 75 

2 50 

3 00 
1 85 

7i 

90 

1411 

95 



69 
69 
53i 
1 20" 
41 
44| 

1 00 

2 30 
70t3 

4 00 

1 50 

2 50 

1 00 
6 00 

2 25 
30 

4 50 

2 50 

3 00 
12 

3 25 
20 
41 
31 



7 80 

1 25 
82J 

2 00 

1 35 

3 50 

2 50 

8 75 

4 00 
25 

1 65 
14 

3 00 
12 00 

4 00 

2 00 

1 75 

2 25 
55 

2 75 

3 50 



APPENDIX. 



247 



Invoice of subsistence stores turned over at New York City, ^-c. — Continued. 



Packages. 


Articles and quantities. 


Cost. 


Total cost. 




200 p'ds sugar, maple pev p'd ... 

24 cans squash, 3 lb " doz.. 

90 " turkey roast 21b " " 


$0 17i 

1 75 
4 50 

2 00 


$34 50 


1 " 


3 50 


4 " 


36 00 


iO " 




40 00 




Total 






9, 916 27 









JOHN P. HAWKINS, 

Major and O. S. 



List of officers and men left at Lady Franklin Bay, August, 1881. 

1st Lieut. A. "W. Greely, 5tli Cavalry, acting sig. officer and assistant. 

2d Lieut. Frederick Kislingbury, llth Infantry, A. S. O. 

2d Lieut. James B. Lockwood, 23d Infantry, A. S. O. 

Sergeant Edward Israel, Signal Corps, U. S. Army. 

Sergeant Winfield S. Jewell, " " 

Sergeant George W. Eice, " " 

Sergeant David C. Ealston, ' * " 

Sergt. Hampton S. Gardiner, " '' 

Sergeant "William H. Cross, general ser'sdce, 

Sergeant David L. Brainard, Co. ''L," 2d Cavalry. 

Sergeant David Linn, Company " C, " 2d Cavalry. 

Corporal Nicholas Salor, Company " H, " 2d Cavalry. 

Corporal Joseph Elison, Company "E," 10th Infy. 

Private Charles B. Henry, Company "E, " 5th Cavy. 

Private Maurice Connell, Company " B, " 3d Cavy. 

Private Jacob Bender, Company " F, " 9th Infy. 

Private Francis Long, Company " F, " 9th Infantry. 

Private William Whisler, Company " F, " 9th Infy. 

Private Henry Bierderbick, Company "G, " 17th Infy. 

Private Julius Fredericks, Company " L, " 2d Cavy. 

Private William A. Ellis, Company " C, " 2d Cavy. 

Private R. R. Schneider, Battery " A, " 1st Artillery. 

Acting Assistant Surgeon Octave Pavy, U. S. Army. 

Two Esquimaux (estimated). 



Commissioned officers 

Enlisted men 

Acting assistant surgeon. 
Esquimaux (estimated).. 



3 

19 

1 

2 



Total. 



25 



Official extract from the records of the Signal Office. 

W. B. HAZEN, 
Brig, and Bvt. Maj. Genl. , Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. 
Signal Office, 

Dec. 21th, 1883. 



248 APPENDIX. 

[Number 47.] 
A. 

INTERKOGATOKIES. 

nterrogatories to be propounded to Thomas N. Malloy, esq., U. S. consul at St, 
John's, Newfoundland, and to Mr. I. Syme and Mr. Lache, agents for J. & W. Stew- 
art, ship-owners, of the same place, whose testimony is required before a court of 
inquiry appointed by the President of the United States to investigate the causes^ 
of the failure of ^he U. S. Arctic expedition of 1883 to Smith's Sound, of Baffin's Bay. 
The deposition of Mr. Malloy, to be. taken before any notary public or other ofQcer 
duly authorized to administer oaths in the provice of Newfoundland. 

The depositions of Mr. Syme and Mr. Lache may be taken by the U. S. consul, who,, 
under section 1750 Revised Statutes, is thereto authorized. After the witnesses shall 
have been duly sworn and examined and their depositions respectively completed and 
signed they will be duly sealed and forwarded by mail, addressed to Major Henry 
Goodfellow, United States Army, recorder of court of inquiry, care of the Adjutant- 
General of the Army, Washington City, D. C, United States of America. 

1st Q. State your name, residence, business, avocation, or office. 

2nd Q. Did you know the steam vessel the Froteiis, which sailed from St. John's, 
Newfoundland, in June, 1883, carrying an Arctic expedition from the United States f 

3rd Q. If you answer yes to the foregoing interrogatory, state fully all you know 
of the fitness of said vessel for the navigation of the seas and ice of the Arctic regions 
at the time she so sailed or departed from St. John's; state also your means of such 
knowledge. 

4th Q. State what, if anything, you may know of the equipment and outfit of said 
vessel at the time mentioned ; state what boats she carried when leaving and what 
was the description of each of them, its seaworthiness, age, and fitness in general 
for the work naturally to be expected of them. 

5th Q. State if you personally made any examination of such equipment and outfit, 
and when you made such examination, when you last saw the boats and equipments- 
of such ship, and w^hen you last examined them critically ; how long before the de- 
parture ? 

6th Q. Do you know the character and general reputation of Richard Pike, master 
of said ship, with reference to seamanship, and as an ice navigator? If so, state it 
fully. 

7th Q. If you know what experience Captain Pike had had in ice navigation, state 
it fully. 

8th Q. State, if youkuow, when and by whom the crew of the Proteus was shipped 
or enlisted ; when the said shipping and enlistment was completed ; how mauy days 
or hours before the ship sailed. State fully. 

9th Q. How did said crew, if you know, compare with the average standard of men 
who habitually are employed in the seal fishery ? 

10th Q. Did you see all of said crew, and how often did you see them ? 

11th Q. Did you critically examine and inspect said crew, or did any one else crit- 
ically examine and inspect said crew in behalf of the owners of the Proteus ; and, if 
so, who made such examination, and when and where — how long before the sailing 
of the ship? 

12th. Q. When did yon last see the crew of said ship ? 

13th Q. Did you know anything personally, or had you any credible assurance; 
and, if so, what ; or the history or antecedents of any of said crew ; and, if yes, of 
how many, and which of them ? State fully. 

14th Q. Had any of said crew, if you know, and, if you answer yes, state which of 
them by name, ever before been in the service of J. & W. Stewart, owners of said 
Proteus ; and, if yes, for how long a period, and what was their reputation during 
such prior employment ? 

15th Q, Did Mr. Syme, agent, &c., promise General Hazen that a crew of first-class 
men should be shipped for the service ? 

16th Q. When did Mr. Syme have his last interview with Gen. Hazen and conver- 
sation with him relative to the ship or crew ; how long before the sailing of the 
ship? 

17th Q. How did the Proteus compare with any other ships from which a selection 
might have been made at the time the Proteus was chartered ? 

18th Q. How does Captain Richard Pike compare in intelligence and capacity as a 
ship-master with any other who, so far as you know, might have been selected ? 

19th Q. Was the time at which said crew was shipped favorable for obtaining a 
good class of men, or was there any special cause, such as the lateness of the season, 
which prevented a good and free choice of men ? 



APPENDIX. , 249 

20th Q. Was a practical boiler-maker enlisted, and did such an artisan accompany 
the ship, as recommended by Lieut. Commander McCalla, the naval officer who in- 
spected the ship ? 

21st Q. State fully and particularly anything else that you may know material to 
the subject-matter of this investigation. 
By order of the court : 

HENRY GOODFELLOW, 
Judge- Advocate, Recorder of the Court. 
Washington City, November 2M, 1883. 

Answers of Thomas N. Molloy, United States consul at St. John's, Neufomidland, to the an- 
nexed interrogatories, marl'ed A, taken upon oath before Henry T. B. Wood, esq^dre, a 
commissioner of affidavits, duly authorised to take and administer oaths, at St. John's, and 
taken under and by virtue of the annexed letters of advice, marked B and C. 

The said Thomas N. Molloy, being sworn, saith : 

To the 1st interrogatory : Thomas Norris Molloy, general commission merchant, and 
holding the office of United States consul at the port of St. John's, in the island of 
Newfoundland. 

To the 2nd : Yes. 

To the 3rd : This is one of the four first-class sealing steamers sailing out of St. 
John's. She was fully equipped for any Arctic voyage, and had been previously en- 
gaged in taking Lieut. Greely and his party to Lady Franklin Bav. 

To the 4th: She was fully equipped for any Arctic voyage. Her hull, spars, rig- 
ging, and sails were complete and perfect. She had four boats ; one large life-boat, 
one quarter or jolly boat, and two new sealing punts, which were .thoroughly sea- 
worthy and fitted in every respect for the work. 

To the 5th : I visited the vessel several times during her preparation for the voyage, 
and inspected her outfit and equipment ; and the day she left the port I examined the 
ship and her outfit and equi^jment and accompanied her out of the harbor in a steam 
launch. 

To the 6th: Yes. His re]iutation stands high for sobriety and probity; and as to 
seamanship and ice-navigation he has not, to my knowledge, any superior in the trade. 
I have known him for the past twenty years, and he has been captain of sail vessels 
and steamers for many years. 

To the 7tli : He has been captain of a sealing steamer out of Newfoundland for 13 or 
14 years, and previous to that he was captain of a sailing vessel to the ice and on 
oreign voyages. 

To the 8th : The crew were selected by Captain Pike. 

To the 9th : The crew conapared well with men employed in the seal fishery. 

To the 10th: I saw all the crew. They were strong, able, and hardy men, accus- 
tomed to work at the seal fishery and cod fishery. 

To the 11th: Tliere was no occasion to critically examine them, as I was assured 
by the captain and from my knowledge of the character of the men that they were 
fit for the voyage. 

To the 12th : On the day of sailing. 

To the 13th: No, except from the credible assurance that they were men in the 
habit of sailing in Messrs. J. & W. Stewart's vessels and steamers, and that that firm 
had no object in sending an inferior crew, and Mr. Syme, the manager, gave Capt. 
Pike authority to pay extra high wages in order to obtain good men. 

To the 14th: Most of the crew had been in the service of J. & W. Stewart, and had 
sailed in their vessels, and from enquiries made by me before the Proteus left St. 
John's I found the crew were men of good reputation. 

To the 15th : He did, and such a crew was shipped. 

To the 16th : To the best of my recollection the last interview and conversation of 
General Hazen and Mr. Syme was in my office at St. John's the evening of the day on 
which General Hazen left St. John's for home via Halifax. This was the day the con- 
tract was signed, ihe 26th of May, I think.' 

To the 17th: The Proteus was the best qualified ship for the expedition that could 
be obtained in the trade. 

To the 18th : Captain Pike, I consider, as fully qualified in intelligence and capacity 
as any captain that could have been obtained, and his knowledge, obtained from the 
previous voyage to Lady Franklin Bay, rendered him superior, in my judgment, to any 
one else. 

To the 19th : I do not know of any cause which prevented a good choice of men. 
Captain Pike, I think, could at any season get a good, qualified crew. 

To the 20th : Yes. 

To the 21st : Everything was done in St. John's that could be done to ensure the 
success of the expedition. The owners of the Proteus put an extra supply of pro- 



250 APPENDIX. 

■visions on board, and also proA^ided a full outfit and equipment and made a full pro- 
vision for a fifteen months' voyage in case of detention. I was not present at any 
particular conversation between Lieut. Garliugton, Mr. Syme, and Capt. Pike. 

THOS. N. MOLLOY, 
U. S. Consul. 

Sworn and taken at St. John's, Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth day of December, 
anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, before me. 

HENRY T. B. WOOD, 
Commissioner for talcing affidavits. 

I, Daniel Joseph Greene, of St. John's, Newfoundland, notary public, duly admitted 
and sworn and practicing therein, certify that Henry T. B. Wood, whose name is 
signed to the jurat of the annexed answers of Thomas N. Molloy, general commission 
merchant and consul for the United States of America, is a commissioner of affidavits 
for the colony of Newfoundland, and as such is duly authorized to take and admin- 
ister oaths in the said colony ; and I further certify that the signature " Henry T. B. 
Wood," appended to the jurat of the said answers, is the proper handwriting of the 
said Henry T. B. Wood. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name and affixed my notarial seal of 
office, at St. John's, in the island of Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth day of Decem- 
ber, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. 

[SEAL.] " D. JOS. GREENE, 

Not. Ptib., Neivfoundland. 

Answers of John Syme, of St. John's, Newfoundland, merchant, to the annexed interroga- 
tories, marked A, taken uijon oath before Thomas N. Molloy, U. S. consul at St. John's, 
Netcfoundland, by virtue of section 17.50 of the Revised Statutes, and under the annexed 
letters of advice, marked B and C. 

The said John Syme, being sworn, saith : 

To the 1st interrogatory : John Svme, of St. John's; merchant. 

To the 2d: Yes. 

To the 3d: Vessel was as fine a ship as could be got anywhere, and so far as I know 
there was not a weak point in her. 

To the 4th : The vessel's equipment was complete in every particular ; no exp<^nse 
was spared to insure success, and my instructions to Capt. Pike were to provide ev- 
•ery equipment necessary for Arctic navigation. Both Mr. Stewart and myself took a 
deep interest in the result, and were sincerely anxious to succor Lieut. Greely and 
his party. Four boats, viz: Life-boat, jolly-boat, and two new sealing punts. The 
two former were nine years old, clinker-built, and copper fastened, and had been little 
used, as they were never taken to the ice. They were looked to and painted every 
year, and thoroughly overhauled before being placed on board the past season ; alto- 
gether the boats were very suitable for Arctic work. 

To the 5th : In conjunction with Ca^it. Pike, superintended the equij)ment and 
outfit as vessel was preparing, critically examined the boats and other gear, and saw 
them safely put on board before vessel started for Sydney, C. B., to take in her sup- 
ply of coal. Examined them again on her return from Sydney about 18th June. 
Two days thereafter I started for Britain, and Mr. Lash took charge. 

To the 6th : I have known Capt. Rich. Pike for the past 21 years, and long before 
lie was connected with our firm. He always bore the reputation of a first-class ice 
navigator, and when we secured his services for sealing master other firms were bid- 
ding for his services. He has been with us for ten years and we consider him one of 
the best ice navigators in this island. He lias also commanded the Proteus in foreign 
-service. 

To the 7th : He has been trained to ice navigation since his boyhood and the fact 
■of his having risen to the command of a sealing steamer like the Proteus is sufficient 
evidence of his ability and knowledge of ice navigation. 

To the 8th: Crew all selected by Capt. Pike personally, immediately after contract 
completed with General Hazen, and shipped 28tli May. Vessel then started for Sydney, 
29tb, took in coal and returned here 13th June. Vessel then ready and waiting to 
take in relief supplies. Capt. Pike had instructions to secure the best crew obtain- 
able and pick his men ; if necessary^offer good wages. This was done and two pounds 
per month higher wages were given than on any former expedition. 

To the 9th : As good a crew of men as ever went to the seal fisheiy. 

To the 10th : Yes ; every day whilst they were in port, up to 20th June. 

To the 11th : No ; I did not examine said crew, as Capt. Pike had the selection 
without interference by any one ; but some of them I knew personally from their hav- 
ing been in our vessels, both sealing and foreign voyages, for some years. 

To the 12th: 20th June, which day I sailed for Britain. 



APPENDIX. 251 

To tlie IStli : I knew the following portion of the crew, and can vouch for \. ir being 
intelligent and reliable : \ 

Robert Pike, mate. ^ 

Archibald Carmichael, Ist engineer. 

George Buckingham, 2nd do. 

Geo. Taylor, boatswain. 

Wm. Carlson, steward. 

John Hunt, cook. 

Patrick Ryan, Henry Jewer, John Wells, firemen, 

Edward Bouia, blacksmith. 

Philip Constantine, Patrick Kelly, George Lambert, Michael Dawley, Edward 
"Breen, George White, seamen. 

The only parties whose antecedents I have no knowledge of were James Kennessey 
aiKl James Moores,^ seamen ; and James Ritchie, 3rd engineer and boiler-maker. 

To the 14th : The following have been in our service, as under : 
Robert Pike, 5 years. v 

Arch. Carmichael, 5 years. 
Geo. Buckingham, 3 years. 
Geo. Taylor, 10 years. 
Wm. Carlson, 11 years. 
John Hunt, 10 years. 
Patrick Ryan, 9 years. 
Henry Jewer, 8 years. 

Will. Constantine, Patrick Kellj^, grown up in the service. 
Maurice Doyle, Jolin Wells, Edward Breen, off and on in our service. 

The reputation of the men of whom I had personal knowledge is free from reproach 
•<jf any thing, so far I know. 

To the 15th : Yes, and such a crew was selected by Capt. Pike in accord with in- 
structions given him by me in presence of Consul Molloy, and to offer highest wages 
to secure this. 

To the 16th : I had my last interview and conversation with General Hazen on 26th 
May, three days before vessel sailed for Sydney. 

To the 17th : She was acknowledged to be the most suitable in the trade. 

To the 18th : No better man could have been selected, if as good, and his former 
successful expedition gave him a knowledge which others did not possess. 

To the 19th : If the charter had been arranged earlier and before sealing crew of 
Proteus were paid off" a greater choice of men might have been obtained, but hardly 
think any better crew could have been selected. 

To the 20th : Yes, James Ritchie was a practical boiler-maker and engineer ; Bonia, 
an experienced blacksmith, was engaged as fireman, lest such services should be re- 
quired. These appointments were all well considered to ensure a successful result to 
expedition. 

To the 21st : Vessel was supplied with a spare rudder, two spare propellers, two 
spare shafts, spare cordage of every description, and provisions for twelve months, lest 
any mishap should occur. Four rifles and cartridges and traps for killing game, to 
l>rovide the crew with fresh meat, in case of their being ship-wrecked and had to face 
an Arctic winter. Over and above ship's coal, 70 tons were left on board to be landed 
at Life-Boat Cove, as Gen. Hazen informed me a house was to be put up there and this 
quantity of coal might probably be required. 

After the failure and return of the expedition to St. John's, Lieutenant Garlington 
requested an interview with Capt. Pike in my presence, and these two, with Lieut. 
Colwell, met in my office. Lieut. Garlington asked Capt. Pike if he had ordered him 
to leave Cape Sabine and proceed north against his will. So far as my recollection 
goes Capt. Pike replied: "You went ashore at Cape Sabine, and after having gone 
upon the hills you came back in all haste and said there was clear water as far as you 
could see. I replied, 'Yes, I could see some water from the ship, but I did not consider 
it prudent to start; besides, 1 had the bunkers to fill and other work to do which 
would occupy two or three days, and by that time the ice would be worked well out 
■of the sound (Smith's). You, Lieut. Garlington, in a peremptory manner reiterated 
the statement, and in such a way that I felt that if I did not proceed and the expedi- 
tion was unsuccessful my lingering at that point might haye been ascribed as the 
cause of the failure.'" Capt. Pilie also stated to Lieut. Garlington that he went in con- 
sequence and against his better judgment. 

J. SYME. 

Sworn and taken at St. John's, Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth day of December, 
anno Domini one thousand eight hundred aud eighty-three, before me. 

THOS. N. MOLLOY, 

U. S, Consul. 



252 APPENDJX. 

Answers of John Lash, of St. John's, JS'etvfoundland, accountant, to the annexed interroga- 
tories, marked J, taken upon oath before Thomas N. Molloy, U. S. consul at St, John's. New- 
foundland, by virtue of section 1750 of the Revised Statutes, and under the annexed letters 
of advice, marked B and C. 

The said John Lash, being sworn, saitli : 

To the 1st Interrogatory : John Lash, of St. John's, Newfoundland ; accountant in 
the employ of Messrs. J. & W. Stewart. 

To the 2nd : Yes, perfectly well. 

To the 3rd: Vessel was built expressly for Messrs. J. & W. Stewart, under special 
supervision, and was as strong as wood and iron could make her, to fit her for con- 
tending with heavy Arctic ice; no expense has been spared in keeping her in thorough 
order ; as far as I could judge and learn, was as strong and well fitted for contending 
with ice as the first year she came to the country. 

To the 4th : Vessel was fully equipped for the voyage on which she was bound ; was 
furnished with spare rudder, two spare propellers, two spare shafts, spare sails, can- 
vas, cordage, &c., and prepared as far as possible for any contingency that might 
arise; carried four boats, viz : a life-boat or a large whale-boat, clinker-built and cop- 
per fastened; jolly-boat, same build ; and two sealing punts, built ex))ressly for knock- 
ing about amongst ice ; two former were nine years old, and had only been used on a 
few foreign voyages, the balance of the time being kept in our store ; two latter were 
new ; were thoroughly overhauled and examined before putting on board ship, and 
as far as strength, durability, and seaworthiness were concerned, were everything 
that could be desired. 

To the 5th: Went all over the vessel with captain a couple of days before sailing, 
and found everything in the way of outfit satisfactory ; boats were then all in order ; 
asked captain if he had everything he required, to which he replied in the affirmative. 

To the 6th : Yes, well ; there is no man sailing out of this island has a better repu- 
tation as a foreign-going master, sealing-master, and ice navigator. 

To the 7th : He has been going to the seal-fishery since his boyhood. Was master 
of a sailing sealing brig for some years, and has been in command of a steam-sealer. 
Can personally testify to his capabilities as ice navigator, having been five weeks in 
a sealing voyage with him, during which time we had to contend with heavy Arctic 
ice. 

To the 8th : The crew was selected by the captain, and shipped before our local shiiJ- 
piug master a month before the vessel sailed on the Arctic expedition, and made a 
trip to Sydney, C. B., in the mean time. 

To the 9th : The crew I considered a good one, fully up to, if not above, the average 
standard, being thorough seamen and accustomed to going to the ice fields. 

To the 10th : Yes, saw them every working day for a fortnight. 

To the 11th : No, there was no necessity, as the crew, with one or two exceptions, 
were personally known to me. 

To the l'2th : The day vessel sailed. 

To the 13th : Knew all the crew with the exception of two, James Hennessey and 
James Moore, who, however, bear a good character here. 

To the 14th: Yes; Wm. Carlson, 11 years; John Hunt, 10 years; Patrick Eyan, 9 
years; Henry Jewer, 8 years ; Robert Pike, 5 years; Arch. Carmichael, 5 years ; George 
Buckingham, 3 years ; Philip Constantine and Patrick Kelly, from their boyhood ; 
Maurice Doyle, John Wells, and Edward Breen made several voyages in different of 
our vessels. 

To the 15th : Cannot say. 

To the 16th : Cannot say. 

To the 17th : I do not think her equal, and certainly not her superior, could be ob- 
tained. 

To the 18th : I consider him one of the most intelligent sealing masters out of the 
country, and such is the opinion of our general public, and do not think a better man 
could have been procured for the enterprise. 

To the 19th : Yes. Had contract, however, been arranged earlier, there would have 
been a greater number to choose from, but doubt if a better crew would have been 
the result. 

To the 20th: Yes. 

To the 21st: There is nothing further that I can say. 

JOHN LASH. 

Sworn and taken at St. John's, Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth day of December, 
anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, before me, 

THOS. N. MOLLOY, 

77. S. Consul. 



APPENDIX. 253 

I, Thomas Norris Molloy, consul for the United States of America at the port of St. 
John's, Newfoundland, hereby certify that the foregoing answers of John Syme, of 
St. John's, merchant, and John Lash (the person called "Locke" in the interroga- 
tories and letters of advice, marked respectively A, B, and C), of St. John's, account- 
ant, to the annexed interrogatories, marked A, were duly taken upon oath, before 
me, on the day of the date thereof, under the annexed letters of advice, marked B and 
C, and pursuant to the powers vested in me by section 1750 of the Revised Statutes; 
and I further certify that the signatures " J. Syme" and "John Lash" to the said an- 
swers are of the proper handwriting of the said John Syme and John Lash. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name and annexed my official seal 
a.t St. John's, in the colony of Newfoundland, this twenty-sixth day of December, 
anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. 

[SEAL.] THOS. N. MOLLOY, 

U. S, Consul. 
B. 

War Department, 
Washington, D. C, November- 26, 1883. 
Thomas N. Molloy, Esquire, 

U. S. Consul at St. John's, N. F. : 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose a list of interrogatories to be propounded to your- 
self, as well as to Mr. Syme and Mr. Lache, agents, now or lately, for the Messrs. J. 
and W. Stewart, at St. John's. 

The State Department has been or will be requested by the Secretary of War to 
instruct you to endeavor to obtain depositions under these interrogatories, which may 
be taken from the witnesses other than yourself by you as consul, and your own by 
the vice-consul of the U. S., if there is one, or if there is none, then before a notary 
public, or other ofiBcial thereto authorized by the laws of Newfoundland. 

Under the last interrogatory I desire to direct the attention of yourself and of Mr. 
Syme to any conversation that may have taken place between Capt. Pike and Lieu- 
tenant Garlington, in your hearing or that of either of you, respecting the circum- 
stances and causes of the loss of the Proteus, especially to an alleged conversation at 
an appointed interview between these gentlemen in Mr. Syme's presence. Such con- 
versation, if testified to, should be repeated as nearly as possible in the words of the 
parties. 

With the depositions should be sent to the court for its inspection the log-book of 
the Proteus, or that book may be brought by Captain Pike, whose attendance you 
will be requested to procure before the court on the nineteenth of next December, 
1883, in this city. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

HENRY GOODFELLOW, 
Judge-Advocate U. S, A., Becorder of the Court. 

C. 

War Department, 
Washington City, December 1st, 1883. 
Sir : I have the honor to inclose herewith a letter of advice from Major Henry 
Goodfellow, Judge-Advocate U. S. Army, recorder of the Proteus court of inquiry, to 
T. N. Molloy, esq., U. S. consul at St. John's, Newfoundland, dated the 26th instant, 
enclosing interrogatories addressed to Mr. Molloy and to Mr. Syme, agent for J. & 
W. Stewart, also to Mr. Lache, agent of the same firm, with a view of obtaining 
their depositions respectively, and to request that you will please forward the same 
to Mr. Molloy with such instructions as may be deemed necessary to the procurement 
of the depositions desired. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 
The honorable the Secretary op State. 



INDEX TO APPENDIX 



LADY FRANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION OF 1881. 

Act May 1, 1880, authorizing expedition 3,4 

General Orders, April 12, 1881, relating to expedition 2, 3^ 

Greely Expedition, abstract daily journal, July 1 to 28, 1881 17-21 

Special Orders (A. G. O.) relating to expedition 2 

(97, C. S. O.. June 17, 1881), officers and enlisted men detailed 

for expedition 5,6 

LETTERS. 

Caziarc-Greely, June 10, 1881, transmits Eobeson's instructions, &c 5 

C. S. O. -Adjutant-General, May23, 1881, transportation of supplies to St. John's, 

N. F 4 

November 30, 1881, enlisted detail for 1882 expedi- 
tion, whom preferred ^ 34 

C. S. O. -Beetle, December 5, 1881, two whale-boats ordered built 35 

Bennet, December 5, 1881, proposals for supplies invited 36 

. Browning Bros., December 5, 1881, j^roposals for hupplies invited.. .. 36 
Danish minister, December 5, 1881, requests certain supplies be pre- 
pared .36, 37 

Greely, June 17, 1881, Greely's instructions 6, 14 

Greely's outfit 14,15 

Grieve & Co., December 5, 1881, proposals for supplies invited 36 

Munn & Co., December 5, 1881, proposals for supplies invited 36 

Recorder Court of Inquiry, November 9, 1883, transmits principal cor- 
respondence relating to expedition 1 

Secretary of War, March 16, 1881, requests return of certain papers 

(•'Greely Plan.") 1 

March 16, 1881, requests orders issued Lieut. Kis- 

lingbury to report without delay 2 

May 25, 1881, copy Nares' chart, &,c., acknowl- 
edged 5 

Juue 20, 1881, ammunition from naval vessel at St. 

John's 16 

November 25, 1881, copies communications, &c., for 

transmission to Secretary of Navy 34 

December 2, 1881, $13,000 needed ; recommenda- 
tions 34,35 

C. S. O.-Stewart (J. & W.), December 5, 1881, proposals for supplies invited. 36 
Surgeon-General, December 3, 1881, medical works for 1882 expedi- 
tion 35 

Malloy, December 5, 1881, to inspect and pass upon certain supplies; 

copy letter same date to United States consul, Stockholm, inclosed. .37 

Consul at Stockholm, December 5, 1881, requested to order preserved 

mulberries 37 

De Bille-C. S. O., February 18, 1882, Danish Government will furnish certain 

supplies. (Greely's req., August 17, 1881) 31 

Greely-C. S. O., July 5, 1881, about to start; con tracts with people of St. John's. 21 

July 5, 1881, conduct of men ; naval engineer 21 

July 5, 1881, cost of vessel for 1882 expedition; contracts.. . 21 

July 5, 1881, delay in forwarding ammunition, photographic 

material, &c 21 

July 6, 1881, steam-launch Lady Greely 22 

July 7, 1881, description Proteus, captain, crew, ifec; insur- 
ance 22,23 

July 21, 1881, arrival at Rittenbank; supplies received ; dogs, 

&c 24 

July 21, 1881, contract with Dr. O. Pavy ; Mr. H. Clay hired. 24 



256 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 

Page. 
Greely-C. S. O., Jnly 21, 1881, Herr Smith; Eskimo hunters; movements, 

weather, &c 24,25 

July 26, 1881, duplicate contracts with Dr. Pavy; oath of 

office transmitted 25 

July 29, 1881, clothing must be ordered in Greenland a year 

in advance 25 

July 29, 1881, stores for 1882 expedition; clothing, «fcc.; rec- 
ommendations 25 

August 15, 1881, arrived at Lady Franklin Bay; details of 

trip to that point 26-29 

August 17, 1881, forwards map; Discovery winter quarters. 31 

August 17, 1881, forwards map showing course of Proteus in 

Smith's Sound 31 

August 17, 1881, supplies from ©anish Government for 1882 

expedition 31 

August 17, 1881, to provide charts for 1882 expedition 30 

August 18, 1881, intentions ; recommendations ; musk oxen 

seen 32 

August 18, 1881, Starr to return ; progress of work 32 

August 18, 1881, statement as regards enlisted force ... 32 

Letters, minor importance, forwarded from Godhavn, Eitteu- 

bank, and Upernavik 23,24 

Grftftlv- } T nl\^n(^\^' (^"gu^t 16, 1881, if willing, to remain and command 
l^reely ^ JLockwood, > party subsequent to 1883 29 

Kislingbury-Greely, August 16, 1881, reply to Greely's inquiry 30 

Lockwood-Greely, August 16, 1881, reply to Greely's inquiry 30 

Pavy-Greely, August 16, 1881, reply to Greely's inquiry 30 

MEMORANDUMS. 

Greely-C. S. O., August 20, 1881, Proteus delayed; what done 33 

August 25, 1881, start a party north in a few days 33 

August 25, 1881, stores under cover; freezing weather ; Starr 

and Ryan returned 33 

TELEGRAMS. 

Caziarc-Greely, June 28, 1881, naval vessel; no spare ammunition 17 

June 28, 1881, Schneider's vouchers 17 

June 28, 1881, inquiry as to ammunition ordered June 3, 1881 17 

C. S. O.-Greely, June 25, 1881, instructed to purchase certain ammunition... 17 

July 3, 1881, final greetings; condition of President 21 

Greely-C. S. O., July 1, 1881, date intends to start; mail (?) 21 

July 18, 1881, arrival at Disco; party; weather 23 

August 18, 1881, brief r^sitm^ of trip; health of party; what 

done 33 

August 18, 1881, English Arctic mail recovered; coal landed 

at Fort Conger 33 

LADY FEANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION OF 1882. 

Depots in Smith's Sound and Kennedy Channel containing supplies 58, 59 

Neptune, provisional charter ; Schedule A ; depots, &c 60, 61 

Programme for the International Polar Expeditions 44, 48 

Special Orders (No. 53, C. S. O.), May 6, 1882, convening Board of Officers to 

consider relief expedition 39 

(139, A. G. O.), June 16, 1882, orders to Acting Assistant Sur- 
geon Hoadley, U. S. A 63 

(140, A. G. O.), June 17, 1882, orders assigning certain enlisted 

men to expedition 63 



Beebe-C. S. O., May 31, 1882 ; report of trip to St. John's ; what done ; Pike 

as ice master ; stores, &c 51 

June 4 and 7, 1882; caches on Greely's line of retreat ; charts, 

arms, and ammunition, &c 52-54 



INDEX TO APPENDIX. 257 

Page. 

Beebe-C. S. 0., Jtine 4 aud 7, 1882 ; desires promotion 52-54 

June 4 and 7, 1882; Neptune; Captain Sopp ; purchases 52-54 

June 4 and 7, 1882 ; reports progress at St. John's ; what done ; 

views, intentions, &c 52-54 

June 13, 1882; copy Neptune's provisional charter forwarded. 60 

June 27, 1882 ; communications of June 6, 7, 9, and 15, and 

one June 9 (Powell) received ; what done 72 

July 6, 1882 ; men ; supplies ; additional purchases made 

necessary 73 

July 17 and 19, 1882 ; trip from St. John's to Disco ; details . . 74, 75 
September 28, 1882 ; Beebe's report ; relief expedition of 1882. 77-82 
Caziarc-Beehe, May 13, 1882 ; contract for no vessel not named by Com- 
mander Greene (copy furnished Commander Greene) 43 

June 18, 1882 ; Beebe's instructions 64 

Caziarc-Clapp, June 21, 1882; to remain till stores are shipped ; trouble about 

men for expedition 66 

June 22, 1882 ; delay in men ; only those reported to go 69 

June 24, 1882 ; powder that cannot be shipped to be returned 

to depot from which received 70 

Caziarc-Greely, May 19, 1882, incloses Part II, Bulletin International Polar 

Commission 44 

June 18, 1882, advises as to measures for his relief, &c. ; sup- 
plies - 65 

June 21, 1882, forwards descriptive lists of men 67 

June 21, 1882, men detailed for expedition 67 

Clapp-Walker, September 25, 1882, certain charts from Hydrographic Office 

requested 77 

C. S. O. -Adjutant-General, June 15, 1882, requests orders for Dr. F. H. Hoad- 

ley, contracted as A. A. S., U.S. A 62 

June 21, 1882, delay of certain men reporting 68 

C. S. O.-Beebe, May 8, 1882, Beebe ordered to St. John's to charter steamer; 

instructions 41 

May 8, 1882, Beebe to visit Greenland and procure certain 

clothing, dogs, &c - 41 

June 6, 1882, list of stores to be bought in St. John's 55, 56 

June 7, 1882, depots to be established in compliance with 
Greely's letter August 17, 1881 ; copy letter August 17, 1881, 

inclosed 56-58 

June 15, 1882, purchase of certain ammunition at St. John's 

authorized 62 

C, S. O.-De Bille, October 26, 1882, requests certain articles be prepared for 

1883 expedition; copy letter to Mr. Knuhtsen inclosed 84,85 

C. S. O.-Greely, June 28, 1882, forwards invoices and receipts lor $1,575 73 

C. S. O.-Hoadley, June 19, 1882, scientific observations in addition to duties as 

surgeon 65, 66 

June 22, 1882, copies for Professor Baird, Smithsonian Insti- 
tute 65, 66 

C. S. O. -Hodges, June 6, 1882, quartermaster purchases in New York ; to be 

notified if not received this week 54, 55 

C. S. O. -Knuhtsen, September 11, 1882, reqnest for certain supplies for 1883 

expedition 76 

C. S. O.-Malloy, October 11, 1882, to look after stores brought back by Nep- 
tune .' 83,84 

C. S. O. -Quartermaster-General, June 27, 1882, unused transportation orders 

returned 71 

C. S. O.-Eecorder of court, November 9, 1883, transmits principal correspond- 
ence, &c., relating to expedition 38 

C. S. O.-Secretary of War, May 8, 1882, recommends William M. Beebe; sent 
to St. John's to charter steamer; recommenda- 
tion approved, but contract in advance of appro- 
priation forbidden 40 

May 8, 1882, requests approval of requisitions for 

certain stores 39 

May 8, 1882, suggests request for naval officer to in- 
spect .steamer at St. John's 40 

May 25, 1882, exceptions to statement; Arctic ap- 
propriation exhausted, leaving no larovisiou for 
return of party 48, 49 

S. Ex. 100— AP 17 



« 

258 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 

Page 
C. S. O.-Secretary of War, May 25, 1882, organization and purposes of Lady 

Franklin Bay expedition 48, 49 

May 26, 1882, copy plan Lady Franklin Bay Expedi- 
tion forwarded ; recommendation 50 

June 7, 1882, declination to forward letters of May 

25 and 26, 1882, to Congress; explanations 59 

October 10, 1882, advises Secretary of War of fail- 
ure of 1882 expedition 83 

October 10, 1882, forwards Beebe's report ; remarks. 82, 83 
November 15, 1882, lequests authority to select an 

officer to sell certain stores of 1882 expedition.. 85 
Greely-C. S . O., August 17, 1881, establishment of supply depots by expedi- 
tions of 1882 and 1883 57, 58 

Greene-C. S. O., May 27, 1882, description of vessels inspected ; recommen- 
dations 50 

Malloy-C. S. O., May 19, 1882, advises probable difficulty in chartering 

steamer 41 

May 30, 1882, recommends Proteus, with Pike as master, for 

expedition 51 

Powell-Beebe, May 13, 1882, authorized to sign provisional contracts 42,43 

May 13, 1882, instructed, contracts binding only in event Con- 
gress makes appropriation 42, 43 

May 13, 1882, not to sign contracts until authorized 42, 43 

Powell-Greene, May 13, 1882, instructions governing selection of steamer... 43 

Powell-Secretary of War, May 12, 1882, necessity of appropriation prior to 

June 1, 1882 42 

June 10, 1882, requests contract with Dr. W. A. Ap- 

plegate 60 

Secretary of War-Secretary of Navy, May 10, 1882, requests naval officer to 

assist in selection of steamer at St. John's 40 

Walker-Greene, May 13, 1882, Greene ordered on special duty to select steamer. 41 

TELEGRAMS. 

Beebe-C. S. O., May 25, 1882, at St. John's; waits orders; date Commander 

Greene sails 48 

May 31, 1882, reports tenders of Neptune and Proteus; price, 

&c 51 

June 22, 1882, instructions relating to depots and purchases 

received; whale-boats? 68 

June 23, 1882, bricks nor suitable lumber at St. John's ; pur- 
chase in New York 70 

June 27, 1882, inquiries as to men ; space for supplies and 

coal 71 

July 7, 1882, everything aboard ; to sail July 8, 1882 74 

September 23, 1882, reports failure of expedition 76 

September 25, 1882, telegram of yesterday not understood ; 

what? ' 77 

Powell-C. S. O., May 12, 1882, Secretary of War forbids contracts in advance 

of appropriation 42 

C. S. O.-Beebe, June 21, 1882, delay in Alhambra's sailing 66 

June 22, 1882, whale-boats shipped ; delay of Alhambra in 

sailing 68 

June 23, 1882, money appropriated ; owners Neptune to be no- 
tified 70 

June 24, 1882, purchase of powder authorized 70 

June 28, 1882, $1,500, Greely's credit with assistant treasurer, 

New York 72 

June 28, 1882, men ; supply space ; coal 72 

September 24, 1882, storage of supplies; discharge of men 76 

September 25, 1882, telegram, of 24th explained 77 

C. S. O.-Caziarc, June 1, 1882, Proteus on same terms as 1881; if declined, 

Neptune to be accepted 52 

C S. O.-Clapp, June 21, 1882, to buy oars ; no delay in delivery of stores 66 

June 23, 1882, purchase and ship bricks and lumber 70 

C. S. O. -Terry, June 19, 1882, whereabouts of certain men 68 

June 23, 1882, Bean and Brinicombe not to start if cannot reach 

Washington June 26, 1882 69 



INDEX TO APPENDIX. 2b^ 

EELIEF EXPEDITION OF 1883. ^^^' 

Act Marcli 3, 1883, appropriatiou for completiug work at Lady Franklin Bay, 

&c 103-105 • 

Certificate of United States Consul Malloy that the answers of John Syme 

and John Lash were made under oath, &c 253 ■ 

Correspondence, schedule, book-marks, &c 86, 87* 

Deposition of Maj. John P. Hawkins, commissary of subsistence, U. S. A.: 

Eelatiug to stores furnished 24^' 

Invoice subsistence stores turned over June 13, 1882 244 

Invoice subsistence stores turned over May 31, 1883 245-247 

Deposition of United States Consul Malloy (replies to interrogatories) 249 

John Lash (replies to interrogatories) 252 

John Syme (replies to iuterrogatories) 250 

Interrogatories to be propounded to Mr. J. Syme and Mr. Lash, agents for J. 

& W. Stewart 248 

Thomas N. Malloy, U. S. consul at St. 

John's, N.F 248 

List of officers and men left at Lady Fraukliu Bay August, 1881 247 

Special Orders (31, A. G. O.), February 6, 1883, directing Garlington and cer- 
tain men to report 97 

(67, A. G. O.), March 22, 1883, certain men ordered to report to 

C.S.O 105 

(113, A. G. O.), May 16, lc83, General Hazen ordered to St. 

John's, &c 113,114 

(117, A. G. O.), May 21, 1883, Garlington ordered to New York. 114 
(128, A. G. O.), June 5, 1883, Sergeant Wall, Third Infantry, or- 
dered to St. John's 127 

(129, A. G. O.), June 6, 1883, Garlington's orders to command 

expedition 127 

Subsistence stores, list of stores on hand, by Greely, June 30, 1881 170-172 

• 

LETTERS. 

Adjutant-General-C. S. O., March 29, 1881, requests statement of action as re- 
gards expedition from inceptiou to date 173 

(Indorsement:) Transmits information called for; 
urges speedy detail of Lieuteuant Kislingbury. . 173 

Caziarc-Garlington, June 5, 1883, directs purchase paper balloons and Coston 

lights 127 

June 6, 1883, arrangements to meet draft for subsistence 

while on Proteus 128 

June 7, 1883, course of Proteus to be traced 129 

September 22, 1883, order to retarn ; transportation 134 

Mem. — Party returned to Washington October 1, 1883, 

and reported to C. S. O 132 

October 17, 1883, asks for complete project for 1884 expe- 
dition 136 

Caziarc-Greely, April 13, 1883, authority to condemn and sell certain stores 

on way back 110 

Clapp-Chief of Ordnance, March 12, 1883, requisition ordnance and ordnance 

stores for officers and men 1883 expedition 101 

Clapp-Molloy, March 13, 1883; purchase coal, fish, dog food 102 

Clapp, C. S. O., February 28, 1883, has turned over all papers and memoranda 

relating to 1883 expedition to Lieutenant Garlington 99 

Clapp-Secretary of War, March 10, 1883, requisition, clothing, &c., for officers 

and men 1883 expedition 101 
medicin al supplies for offi- 
cers and men 1883 expe- 
dition 100 

subsistence stores for offi- 
cers and men 1883 expe- 
dition 100 

C. S. O.-Adjutant-General, November 10, 1882 ; selection of officer and men 

for 1884 expedition 90 

November 10, 1882 ; transmits letter, substituted 
for one October 27, 1882, considered objection- 
able ; explanations 90 



260 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 

Page. 
- C. S. O.-Adjutant-General, January 13, 1883 ; requests detail of certain men. . 93 

requests telegrai)hic instructions 
directing Lieutenant Garling- 

ton to report here 93, 94 

January 18, 1883 ; necessi ty Garlington's reporting 

at once 96 

'Commissary-General Subsistence, Jauuary 29, 1883 ; 1882, stores 

shipped to depot commissary at 

New Yorlc 96 

February 12, 1883 ; relating to cer- 
tain stores (1882 expedition) re- 
ceived at New York 98 

De Bille, February 96, 1883 ; acknowledges letter of February 11 98 

English (Commauder), January 17, 1883 ; requests sail-needles, sew- 

Lng-palms, &c 94, 95 

Garlington, June 4, 1H83 ; Garlington's instructions 118, 119 

Mem. A — Closing scientific, at Camp Conger 119, 120 

B—Scientilic outfit 120-122 

C — Instructions ; observations on voyage 122, 123 

D — Instructions while at Life Boat Cove 123 

E — Instructions if frozen in in Smith's Sound 124 

Inclosure 3; stores at St. John's and cached, invoiced to 

Garlington 124-126 

" Inclosure 4," (?) "supplementary instructions" 126 

Greely, June 4, 1883 ; instructions relating to abandonment of station 

and return to United States .. 117 

Hodges, February 23, 1883 ; " 1882 " stores not receipted by Greely . . 98 

Malloy, December 16, 1882; requests engagement of J. W, Norman and 

three men 91 

January 6, 1883 ; stores of 1882 expedition to be returned to 

depot commissary. New York 91 

January 10, 1883; buildings to be contracted for; description. 92,93 

Norman, June 22, 1883 ; why not employed for expedition 130 

Quartermaster-General, March 21,1883; requests issue of clothing; 

requisition transmitted 103 

March 23, 1883 ; requests issue of certain 
quartermaster's stores ; requisition trans- 
mitted - 105, 106 

March 26, 1883 ; boots and mits for party. . . 107 
Recorder of court, November 9, 1883; transmits principal correspond- 
ence, &c 86 

supplementary corre- 
spondence 86 

November 14, 1883 ; transmits copies of papers re- 
lating to original project, Greely expedition. .. 136 
Inclosure 1, May 20, 1879; Lieutenant Weyprecht 
to C. S. O., relating to International 
Polar expedition 137 

2, September 8, 1879; C. S. O. to Lieu- 

tenant Weyprecht ; reply 138 

3, May 27, 1880 ; C. S. 0. to Secretary of 

War, relating to Arctic expedition. 138-140 

4, May 1, 1880 ; act to authorize and 

equip expedition to the Arctic seas. 151 

5, stations promised by different na- 

tions 141 

6, March 11, 1881 ; Special Order 57, A. 

G. O., assigning Greely to command 141 

7, March 9, 1880 ; House Report No. 453, 

Forty-sixth Congress, second ses- 
sion, "Expedition to the Arctic 
seas" 142-150 

8, List officers and men detailed for ex- 

pedition 150 

9, March 28, 1881 ; Greely's Mem. ; med- 

ical supplies furnished 151 

10, May 27, 1880 ; proceedings of Board to 
consider Howgate's plan for Arctic 
* work 151-154 



INDEX TO APPENDIX. 261 

Page. 
C. S. O.-Recorder of court, Inslosure 11, March 13, 1881 (same as iuclosure 9). 154 

12, March 27, 1880 ; request for certain 

commissary stores 155 

13, May 7, 1880 ; request for certain com- 

missary stores 156 

14, May 13, 1880; purchase of frame house 

and lumber 157 

15, May 7, 1880, request for certain quar- 

termaster stores 157 

16, March 28, 1881, Dr. O. Pavy engaged. 158 
. 17, April 30, 1880, report of Board ; plan 

for scientiiic work in high latitudes . 159-161 

18, April 28, 1880, mem. ; plan approved 

by the President 162 

19, April 27, 180, mem. ; expedition, shij), 

crew, and permanent party 162, 163 

20, March 30, 1880, engineer outfit from 

Willets Point 163,164 

21, March 27, 1880, quartermaster stor(!S 

for expedition , 164 

22, March 16, 1881, Secretary of War to 

Secretary of State requesting co- 
operation in certain matters 164,165 

23, September 17, 1880, president Inter- 

national Polar Commission to C. S. 

O . . - 1 65, 166 

24, Arctic region, circle map 167 

25, May 1, 1880, act authorizing expedi- 

tion to Arctic seas : 167 

26, appropriation for observation and ex- 

ploration in Arctic seas, &c 168 

27, March 8, 1881, outline of plan for 

establishing station at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay 168 

28, March 29, 1881, request for Greely's 

authority to command expedition. 169 

Indorsement : March 29, 1881, original 
not in S. 0. ; iirobably with Adju- 
tant-General. 

29, Mai'ch 24, 1881, why exiieditionary 

party should not all be taken from 
Signal Corps ; supplies to June 30, 
1882, only 169 

30, April 6, 1881, necessity of immediate 

approval of L. F. B. expedition by 

Secretary 170 

Lucien Young, master, U. S. N. (not 

marked inclosure) 156 

November 19, 1883, transmits list of subsistence 

stores taken by Greely in 1881 192-194 

C. S. O. — Secretary of War, November 1, 1882, plan for relief expedition, 1884 ; 

recommendations 88, 89 

First indorsement : Returued forviews of C. S. O., 

whether it would not be more desirable that 

Navy should furnish party. 

Second indorsement: Views of C. S. O. why Army 

should furnish party. 

November 15, 1882, requests Dr. Hoadley's station 

fixed at Washington 90, 91 

March 16, 1883, appropriation insufficient to bring 

back both parties in 1884 ; recommendations . . . 102 

March 26, 1883, amended regulation for commissary 

stores ; insufficiency of appropriation 107 

April 21, 1883, recommends contract with Dr. James 
L. Camp. 
Indorsement : Secretary desires project for ex- 
penditure of amount appropriated for medical 
service Ill 



262 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 

Page. 
C. S. O. -Secretary of War, April 25, 1883, submits project for expenditure of 
amount appropriated for medical service ; renews 

recommendation of 21st April Ill, 112 

May 10, 1883, requests authority to proceed to St. 

John's to secure vessel 112, 113 

May 10, 1883, requests detail of naval officers to 

inspect vessel at St. John's 113 

May 14, 1883, requests naval tender to accompany 

Proteus 174 

June 23, 1883, submits Garlington's application 

for Lieutenant Colwell 131 

October 16, 1883, incloses Garlington's report; re- 
marks 135 

October 16, 1883, transmits Garlington's report ; 

explanations 223,224 

C. S. O -Terry, October 27, 1882, requested to suggest officer and men for 1883 

expedition 88 

C. S. O.-Walker, Commander, January 17, 1883, requests compasses and lead- 
line material 94 

C. S. O.-Wilson, Chief Constructor, January 17, 1883, requests boats, sheet- 
lead, &c 95 

DeBille-C. S. O., February 11, 1883, supplies; remarks as to dog-drivers 97 

Dunwoody-Secretary of War, October 23, 1883, forwards Garlington's supple- 
mentary report, called for October 18, 1883 136 

Garlington-C. S. O., October 2, 1883, Garlington's report 199-212 

Inclosure A, letter; Greely to C. S. O., August 17, 1881.. 212 

B, Garlington-Wilder agreement 215 

C, Lockwood's notice and mem. August 1, 

1881 215,216 

Copy Sir George Nares' record; Garling- 
ton's indorsement 216 

D, July 22, 1883,notice left at Pandora Harbor. 216 

E, July 24, 1883, notice of wreck, caches, &c., 

left at Cape Sabine 216,217 

F, July 26, 1883, notice leffc at Littleton Isl- 

and 217 

G, July 27, 1883,notice left at Pandora Harbor. 217, 218 
H, August 12, 1883, notice Immelick Bay near 

Cape York ; separation of party 218 

I, August 12, 1883, Colwell's instructions to 

proceed south 219 

K, August 6, 1848, Commander Ross's notice.. 219 

L, October 9, 1883, Lieutenant Colwell's re- 
port; movements after separation from 

Garlington 219-223 

Depots, Smith's Sound and Kennedy Channel 212,213 

Proteus, charter party (Inclosure 4) 214 

October 20, 1883, replies to questions propounded in let- 
ter of October 18, 1883 224-228 

Mills, May 19, 1883, requests arms and ammunition 114 

Greely-C. S. O., August 15, 1881, extract Greely's report. 172,173 

McCalla-Walker, June 5, 1883, reports actioQ (inspection) at St. John's 191 

Inclosure: McCalla to Hazeu, May 26, 1883; has examined 

Proteus and is of opinion ship is fit for expedition 191 

Powell-Garlington, June 2, 1883, to personallj^ satisfy himself supplies are de- 
livered as ordered ; responsibility 117 

Powell- Surgeon-General, May 1, 1883, requests contract with Dr. James L. 

Camp 112 

Recorder of court-Malloy, November 26, 1883, transmits list of interrogatories 

to be propounded to himself, Mr. Syme, and Mr. Lash 253 

Secretary of Navy-Secretary of War, May 18, 1883, Lieutenant-Commander 

McCalla selected to inspect vessel at St. John's 113 

(Acting)-Wildes, June 9, 1883, Commander Wildes' in- 
structions 175 

June 9, 1883, Wildes instructed to trans- 
port certain expeditionary supplies 

to St. John's 176 

October 10, 1883, requests why Yantic 
n failed to accompany Proteus or land 

stores at Littleton Island 186, 187 



INDEX TO APPENDIX. 263 

Page. 
Secretary of Navy-Secretary of War, November 2, 1883, certain acts and fail- 
ures condemned 190, 191 

( Acting )-Secretary of War, November 12, 1883, transmits copies instructions, 

reports, and other papers relating to cruise of 

Yantic 174 

Secretary of War-C. S. O., October 31, 1883, notification that the President has 
directed a court of inquiry convened. Desires explana- 
tion of conflicting orders, discrepancies, &c 195-199 

Recorder of court, November 15, 1883, transmits certified 

copies of the following letters and papers 228-230 

No. 1. May 14, 1880. Crosby-Finkle 230 

No. 2. May 24, 1880. Secretaryof War to Secretary of State. 230 
No. 3. June 1,1880. Secretary of War to Commissary-Gen- 
eral Subsistence 230 

No. 4. February 4, 1881. Secretary of War to Hon. James 

H. Blount, M. C 230 

No. 5. March 16, 1881. Secretary of War to Secretary of 

State 231 

No. 6. March 29, 1881. Crosby to C. S. O 231 

No. 7. Apriie, 18H1. Secretaryof War to Secretary of Navy. 231 

No. 8. April 13, 1881. Crosby to Secretary of Navy ".. 231 

No. 9. April 16, 1881. Crosby to Hon. W. W. Crapo, M. C. 232 

No. 10. April23, 1881. Secretarv of War to Secretary of Navy 232 

No. 11. May 31, 1881. Crosby to Secretary of State 232 

No. 12. June 16, 1881. Secretary of War to J. W. Anderson. 233 

No. 13. July 25, 1881. Secretarv of War to Secretary of State- 233 

No. 14. August 19, 1881. Secretary of War to Rev. M. Stone. 233 

No. 15. September 9, 1881. Crosby to Secretary of State.. . 233 

No. 16. September 17, 1881. Crosbv to Secretarv of State . 234 

No. 17. October 3, 1881. Crosby to "^ Secretary of Treasury.. 234 

No. 18. October 4, 1881. Crosby to Secretary of State ..'... 234 

No. 19. December 9, 1881. Secretary of War to Speaker H.R. 234 
No. 20. December 13, 1881. Secretary of War to Secretary 

of State 235 

No. 21. March 13, 1882. Secretary of War to Hon. L. F. Glo- 
ver, M. C 235 

No. 22. May 10, 1882. Secretary of War to Secretary of Navy. 235 
No. 23. May 17, 1882. Tweedale to Chief Signal Officer .... 236 
No. 24. May 13, 1882. Secretary of War to the President... 236 
No. 25. June 9, 1882. Secretary of War to chairman Com- 
mittee on Appropriations H. R 236 

No. 26. June 23, 1882. Secretary of War to Hon. O. D. Con- 
ger, U. S. S 237 

No. 27. June 27, 1882. Secretary of War to the President.. 237 

No. 28. June 30, 188:^. Secretaryof War to Surgeon-General 237 

No. 29. July 3, 1882. Secretaryof War to Secretary of State. 237 
No. 30. July 17, 1882. Acting Secretary of War (Chandler) 

to Secretary of State 238 

No. 31. September 16, 1882. Acting Chief Clerk (Jay Stone) 

to Chief Signal OfBcer 238 

No. 32. September 25, 1882. Tweedale to Secretary of War 

(telegram) 238 

No. 33. September 26, 1882. Tweedale to the President.... 239 
No. 34. General order, without number or date, approved 

by the President 239 

No. 35. October 31, 1882. Secretary of War to Secretary of 

State 239 

No. 36. March 14, 1883. Secretary of War to W. H. Gilden 239 

No. 37. April 6, 1883. Secretary of War to C. S. O 240 

No. 38. May 8, 1883. Secretary of War to Mrs. L. M. Navy. 240 

No. 39. May 14, 1883. Secretary of War to Secretary of Navy. 241 

No. 40. May 14, 1883. Secretary of War to Secretary of Navv. 241 

No.41. June23,1883. Secretary of War to Secretary of State. 241 

No. 42. July 7, 1883. Secretarv of War to William Atherton. 242 

No. 43. July 14, 1883. Tweedale to Mrs. Allie Moritz 242 

No. 44. September 19, 1883. Secretary of War to Secretary 

ofNavy 242 

No. 45. October 23, 1883. Secretary of War to Rev. M. Stone 242 



264 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 



Secretary of War, No. 46. October 24, 1883. Secretary of War to Secretary of 

Navy 243 

Secretary of War to Secretary of State, December 1, 1883, 
request that certain transmitted interrogatories be for- 
warded Mr. Malloy to secure certain desired depositions. 253 
Wildes-Walker, June 25, 1883, Wildes' report of trip of Yantic from New 

Yorli to St. John's 176,177 

September 17, 1883, Commander Wildes' report 178-183 

Record A, found at S. E. Gary Island, August 2, 1883 (Gar- 

lington's notice, J uly 21, 1883) 183 

B, found at Pandora Harbor, August 3, 1883 (Gar- 

lington's notice, July 22, 1883) 183 

C, found at Littleton Island, August 3, 1883 (Gar- 

liugtou's notice, July 26, 1883) 184 

D, found at Pandora Harbor, August 3, 1883 (Gar- 

lington's notice, July 27, 1883) 184 

E, found at Pandora Harbor, August 3, 1883 (Pike's 

notice, July 23, 1883) 184 

F, found at S. E. Gary Island, August 5, 1883 (Pavy- 

Kislingbury notice, August 1, 1881). Also, copy 
of document of Allen Young, relating to trip of 
Pandora in 1876 185 

G, found at S. E. Gary Island, August 5, 1883 (Arbuth- 

not's notice, August 1, 1876) 185 

Wildes-Secretary of Navy, October 16, statement why Yantic did not accom- 
pany Proteus or land stores at Littleton Island. 187-189 

provisions on hand August 3, 1883 189 

pro.visions on hand September 15, 1883 190 

MEMORANDUMS. 

Clapp, Captain, February 28, 1883, to transfer supervision of expeditionary 
work to Lieutenant Garlington 99 

C. S. O. -Secretary of War, April 1, 1883, reasons why all expenses of person- 
' neJ of expeditions should not be charged against 

Signal Service 109 

(Indorsement): Signiiication of "Signal Serv- 
ice"; upon whose urgency Secretary placed 

expeditions on foot 109,110 

April 1, 1883, why Army members of expeditionary 
force should be paid from Army aijpropriations, 

and not charged against Signal Service 108 

Signal Service notes No. X, report Lady Franklin Bay expedition of 1883 . . . 199 

TELEGRAMS. 

Caziarc-Garlington, May 25, 1883, Proteus ready June 14; when freight must 

be shipped 114 

May 28, 1883, naval supplies ready and ordered 115 

May 30, 1883, surgeon, compasses, and lead line 116 

May 30, 1883, surgeon secured, &c 116 

May 31, 1883, Dr. J. S. Harrison contracted; medical 

supplies 117 

May 31, 1883, surgeon, compasses, lead line ; Commodore 

Upshur's letter 116 

September 13, 1883, what stores left for Greely ? if any- 
thing can be done this year 132 

Caziarc, Mills-Garlington, September 13, 1883, did Yantic leave stores any 

where? i^roject for immediate return to Little- 
ton Island 132 

September 13, 1883, what stores left for Greely? 

can anything be done this year? 131,132 

C. S. O.-Garlington, June 6, 1883, directs purchase certain vegetables; ship- 
ment 128 

June 6, 1883, hammocks, bedding, &c., for party on 

Yantic 128 

June 6, 1883, jiarty to go on Yantic; Wall on Alhambra. 129 

June 25, 1883, request for Lieutenant Colwell approved; 
Wall returned 131 



INDEX TO APPENDIX. 265 

Page. 

C. S. O.-Lynn, April 9, 1883, to see United States Consul Malloy ; steamer 110 

Malloy, March 29, 1883, bid of William Campbell to construct build- 
ing, accepted 107 

April "2, 1883, inquiry as regards steamer for expedition 110 

Garlington-Caziarc, May 30, 1883, surgeon to be secured in Washington 116 

May 28, 1883, necessity having surgeon at once 115 

C. S. O. , May 29, 1883, surgeon ; has had two offers 115 

June 6, 1883, recommends party to go to St. John's by 

Alhambra 129 

June 6, 1883, to go on Yantic ; no reply having been re- 
ceived to telegram this date 129 

June 21, 1883, arrival at St. John's 130 

September 13, 1883, reports failure of expedition 131 

September 14, 1883, quantity of stores left for Greely ; 

where 132 

September 15, 1883, reports why stores were not left at 

Littleton Island 133 

Mills-C. S. O., September 15, 1883, amount of supplies left at Cape Sabine ; no 

no further expedition this year 133 

Garlington, September 14, 1883, Secretaries War and Navy desire full 
replies from Garlington and Wildes, why stores were not 

landed at Littleton Island 132 

September 15, 1883, no further expedition this year ; return 

of party , 133 

September 19, 1883, Secretary declines to change order 134 

Wildes-Secretary of Navy, September 13, 1883, reports rescue of Garlington 

party 177 

September 15, 1883, deems it impracticable to re- 
turn north ; remarks as regards officers and 
crew of Proteus 177 

S. Ex. 100— AP 18 



1 



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